On paper this group looks an easy call, with Spain and Germany probably advancing and the other two putting up a good fight. However, Spain and Germany have both been eliminated at this stage in recent years. Spain were humiliated by the Netherlands and crashed out in 2014. Meanwhile, a Son Heung-Min goal in 2018 humbled the Germans. Last year Spain were unlucky not to reach the final of the Euros, while Germany lost at Wembley to England in the last 16. Costa Rica made it through the group stage in 2014 in a widely unfancied position after being clubbed together with Italy, England and Uruguay. Japan’s latest World Cup adventure took them as far as the last 16 where they were cruelly beaten by Belgium after going 2-0 up.
Since qualifying for their first tournament in 1998, Japan have not missed one since and co-hosted in 2002 along with South Korea. In three of the six previous attempts they have reached the last 16, although never managed to get past this checkpoint. This will be head coach Hajime Moriyasu’s first World Cup as top boss after assisting Akira Nishino in Russia 2018. Moriyasu is not scared of tough decisions after leaving Celtic starman Kyogo Furuhashi in Glasgow, his reasoning being him not suiting the system. In most recent games, Japan have played a 4-3-3 and while that might appear attacking, Moriyasu tends to pick players who get through a lot of work defensively – this is where Ritsu Dōan comes in.
Ritsu Dōan, 24 (Japan/SC Freiburg)
Dōan currently plays for Bundesliga side SC Freiburg. After leaving his home country in 2017, he has played for a number of clubs across Germany and the Netherlands including; PSV Eindhoven, Groningen and Arminia Bielefeld. Dōan made a permanent switch to Freiburg earlier this year and has impressed since joining. He has so far mustered 17 starts across the Bundesliga and Europa League scoring three and assisting two. As previously mentioned, Furuhashi is missing out because “he doesn’t fit the system”, if there was a player who epitomises the system, it’s Ritsu Dōan.
Traditionally, Japan’s players have had to work extremely hard in order to win games at the World Cup. Despite the strong output in goals and assists for Freiburg this season, it’s the defensive side of the game where Dōan really shines.
Just to mention, comparisons here are being made against other wingers and attacking midfielders in the top five European leagues and also the top two continental competitions.
Two immediate metrics that pop-out are his tackles and blocks. Beginning with tackles, Dōan is in the 99th percentile for tackles, achieving an average of 2.61 tackles per 90 minutes. He is also in the 98th percentile for blocks, averaging 1.78 per 90. These two statistics help to illustrate how much work he is able to get through and his willingness to put in hard work for the team. Getting vital blocks in will be important when coming up against some of the games best attackers from Germany and Spain. The ability to effectively win tackles too will be very important, versus the dribble this season he has a 50% win ratio.
The defensive side of his game will put him in good stead, however to advance to a meaningful position in the tournament chances will have to be taken. So far this season, Dōan has a shot on target ratio of 48%, which is fairly impressive. That sort of ratio places him between Germany and Bayern’s wingers Gnabry (52.5%) and Sané (42.5%).
How far will Japan go in Qatar? It’s difficult to say but Moriyasu will have to live by his system and hope him and his backroom have made the right call by leaving a player like Furuhashi at home.
*All statistics taken from FBRef website
Statswise FC 