Japanese may be ready to unleash ‘storm’ of firepower against Dutch
Reigning World Cup champion Japan is the last unbeaten, untied team at the FIFA 2015 tournament.
But ahead of tonight’s knockout round game at BC Place against the Netherlands, there is a strong feeling that fans have yet to see the best of the Nadeshiko. Even head coach Nono Sasaki is hinting that a “storm” of soccer firepower is about to be unleashed.
The Japanese, who utilized all 23 of their players during the group stage, scored just four goals in recording wins over Switzerland (1-0), Cameroon (2-1) and Ecuador (1-0), with the first two games coming at BC Place. They have displayed their technical, short-passing, speed game at times, but at other times have looked uninspired.
Expect to see a more determined Japanese squad tonight against a Dutch squad that is making its World Cup debut and only snuck into the round of 16 as a third-place finisher in their group.
“It’s not as if we’ve been hiding what we’re capable of,” said the colourful Sasaki. “It’s because the players haven’t been able to expose all their strength. I warn everyone to be prepared for the storm that could happen.”
Sasaki, who is likely to start his strongest lineup tonight, said his experienced squad is hoping to author a new World Cup story in Vancouver.
“This is a knockout stage and, of course, there will be some drama and I want to make that drama a good one for us,” he said at a news conference on Monday.
Drama? A potential storm? Sounds like Sasaki is doing his best to hype a game that some believe could be one-sided.
The Dutch beat New Zealand 1-0, got a late equalizer to draw 1-1 with Canada and fell 1-0 to China on a late goal. Like many teams they’ve found it tough to score goals at this tournament.
But Japanese veteran Homare Sawa, who is appearing in her record sixth World Cup, says the Dutch will present a stiff challenge if Japan is not fully focused.
“The quality of their individual players is very high and they have typical European characteristics,” she told FIFA.com. “They’re physical, strong, good at dribbling and very quick as a team. They’ve also very tall players, so we’ve got to be aware of that.”
If they can pull off the upset tonight, the Dutch would qualify for the 2016 Olympics as one of the top three European countries at the World Cup.
“We know what’s waiting for us,” veteran Dutch defender Mandy Van Den Berg said at a Monday evening news conference at BC Place before the side’s final practice. “If we win over Japan, it will be enough for us to make it into the Olympic Games. For us, that would be fantastic. That’s the only way we can say it.”