Changing coaches on the eve of the World Cup can be fraught with danger. Just look at Spain. The Spaniards and last-minute replacement coach Fernando Hierro were surprisingly eliminated by Russia in a penalty shootout after a timid and uninspired performance. For Japan, however, the decision to sack Vahid
Changing coaches on the eve of the World Cup can be fraught with danger. Just look at Spain.
The Spaniards and last-minute replacement coach Fernando Hierro were surprisingly eliminated by Russia in a penalty shootout after a timid and uninspired performance.
For Japan, however, the decision to sack Vahid Halilhodzic just two months before the World Cup appears to have been justified despite the team’s last-minute defeat to Belgium in the round of 16 on Monday night. Japan was leading 2-0 early in the second half in Rostov-On-Don before Belgium came back to win 3-2 with a scintillating counterattack in the last seconds of injury time.
It was a cruel blow for Japan, which appeared to have taken control of the match through goals from Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui.
« Devastating, » was how coach Akira Nishino described the loss.
The shock of the defeat — the first time a team has lost a World Cup knockout match outright after leading by two goals since West Germany defeated England 3-2 in a 1970 quarterfinal — will clearly take some time to come to terms with.
But Japan can take immense pride from its performance both in the Belgium match and in the tournament as a whole.
Four years after a hugely disappointing campaign in Brazil, Japan entered the World Cup as one of the lowest-ranked sides. Few expected the Blue Samurai to get out of their group, not least because of the change at the top.
But following victory over Colombia and a draw with Senegal, Japan advanced from its group despite a 1-0 defeat to Poland in its final group match.
