Belgium-Japan Analysis
Japan is the team that proved to be a big surprise on this World Cup, especially if we take sudden change of coach just before the competition. Akira Nishino completely transformed the team in short time interval, and made them tough to play against.
JJapan applies possession based style of play, with very dynamic movement in midfield and overloads created in central areas of the field. They are vulnerable in transition due to lack of pace from full-backs who fail to track back and provide defensive support.
- Due to physical attributes of their players, they could have problems to deal with set-piece situations. They have had problems to control wide areas against Senegal, especially when opponents switch sides with long diagonal balls when they fail to retain horizontal compactness and deal with opponent’s pace in 2v2 situations.
(M. Mandžukić '4 ; M. Jørgensen '1)