On Thursday 17 March, Vahid HALILHODZIC announced his squad for the FIFA World Cup Russia Asian Qualifiers Round 2 against Afghanistan and Syria to be held on Thursday 24 and Tuesday 29 at Saitama Stadium.

Halilhodzic’s 24-man squad includes 11 players from J.League clubs and 13 players from overseas clubs. “The important thing is to win the two matches and I want to continue our clean-sheet run during the qualifiers. And we will be also ready to score as many goals as possible,” said Japan boss at the beginning. He then introduced his selection of 24 players one by one by position and mentioned each player’s current situation and what he requires from them from now on before finishing the press conference.

SAMURAI BLUE will assemble next Monday to kick off their training.

Coach Comment

Vahid HALILHODZIC, Coach
The important thing is to win the two matches and I want to continue our clean-sheet run during the qualifiers. And we will be also ready to score as many goals as possible. Now, in the FIFA ranking, Japan is at second place in Asia. For the final qualifiers, we want to maintain this position as well.

I have been watching the J.League since the start of the season, and I think players’ aggressiveness on the ball has been improved. But in the AFC Champions League, Japanese clubs are still experiencing difficult matches against clubs from other countries. We have to keep improving our performance quality even further.

I am thinking to give chances to players who currently keep playing well for their own club. It’s up to players whether they grab that opportunity, but I am building various game plans where I give out such opportunities. We want to come out with wins in front of our home supporters.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Asian Qualifiers Round 2 AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 Preliminary Joint Qualification

SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) vs Afghanistan National Team
2016-3-24 (Thu.) - 19:30 (subject to change) 
Saitama/Saitama Stadium 2002
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SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) vs Syria National Team
2016-3-29 (Tue.) - 19:30 (subject to change) 
Saitama/Saitama Stadium 2002
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