Japan-based supporters of Group H teams fighting it out for the ultimate prize at the FIFA World Cup speak to The Japan Times.
As the 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off, The Japan Times got the lowdown from Japan-based supporters of some of the 32 teams fighting it out for the ultimate prize in Russia.
Today, group H:
Who’s your team’s man to watch?
I don’t really have a specific player I’m focusing on, since the coach changed at the last minute. I’m actually more interested in seeing how the Japanese team will play as a whole, how they function as a team, because I feel like the 23 players haven’t changed since four years ago. I think it’s more interesting to see how the similar players will make a difference at this FIFA World Cup.
Which World Cup game are you most looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to Portugal and Spain, playing on the 16th, because for one, they’re really good teams so you can’t really tell which one will actually win — so a thrilling match. Also, because (Andres) Iniesta recently signed with Vissel Kobe, so I’m excited to see how he will play, and also I’m a huge Cristiano Ronaldo fan, so I’m genuinely excited to see him perform on pitch.
How far do you expect your team and Japan to go?
As much as I want Japan to go as far as they can, I think it will be challenging for them to even get through the preliminaries for a couple of reasons — one, because the other teams they will be playing against, their FIFA world ranks are really, really high; and also because, as I mentioned before, the coach changed last-minute, so I think it’s hard to bring everyone onto the same page in such a short amount of time.
So who’s going to win?
Well, I would say my desire is Japan, but that’s actually a really tough question. Germany is ranked first so I’d say maybe Germany, but I think Argentina also has a good, good chance. Portugal has a good chance as well; Spain, we’ll see. I’m not really sure which team will win, but lets hope Japan.
Who’s your team’s man to watch?
OK, the Colombian team, for everybody in Colombia, we have two very important, big players: James Rodriguez and Falcao.
