Japanese players choose the order to kick 11m
Coach Moriyasu said that Japan lost on penalties not because players were under pressure. But he also said that he wanted the team to solve the game in the first 120 minutes. "We wanted to win before we had to take a penalty, but in the end we couldn't because the Croatian goalkeeper made an excellent save," he said. "Shoots are inevitable for Japan".
When asked about Japan's player selection and penalty shootout order, he replied: "I let the players decide the order themselves."
After drawing 1-1 in the two main periods and failing to score in extra time, the two penalty shoot-out teams competed for the next place. Three out of four Japanese players missed their shots and were pushed away by goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic, Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma and Maya Yoshida respectively. Only the third shot Takuma Asano succeeded, but it was not enough to help the Asian team reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup 2022. After the match, Minamino once refused to give an interview.
The 25-year-old midfielder Mitoma revealed that he volunteered to kick first, when the coach and veteran players were still thinking. "I want to kick first because I want the home team to win," he said after the game with tears in his eyes. "But this game I was lacking in everything. Hopefully we can win the World Cup four years later."
When asked more about the penalty shootout, coach Moriyasu added: "The secret to success is luck and practice. But there is a difference between Japan and the world's top teams in terms of strong and precise kicking. The Croatian goalkeeper played great, but we should have shot harder and more accurately."
This is the second time Japan has lost in the round of 16 of the World Cup by penalty shootouts. In 2010 in South Africa, they lost to Paraguay 3-5 on penalties, with the only missed shot being defender Yuichi Komano. On the Paraguay side, all five players shot in, like Croatia on the evening of December 5. "Japan cannot suddenly become superman," added coach Moriyasu. "We need time to improve."
