Subscriber nudge+ Posted May 31, 2018 Subscriber Share Posted May 31, 2018 Japan's 23-man World Cup squad Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Metz), Masaaki Higashiguchi (Gamba Osaka), Kosuke Nakamura (Kashiwa). Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo (Galatasaray), Tomoaki Makino (Urawa), Wataru Endo (Urawa), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Hiroki Sakai (Marseille), Gotoku Sakai (Hamburg), Gen Shoji, Naomichi Ueda (Kashima). Midfielders: Makoto Hasebe (Eintracht Frankfurt), Keisuke Honda (Pachuca), Takashi Inui (Eibar), Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Genki Haraguchi, (Fortuna Düsseldorf), Takashi Usami (Fortuna Düsseldorf), Gaku Shibasaki (Getafe), Ryota Oshima (Kawasaki). Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Leicester), Yuya Osako (Werder Bremen), Yoshinori Muto (Mainz). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
True Blue Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Favorite Asian national team, hope they do well. Tough group but hope they can qualify for the next round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber nudge+ Posted May 31, 2018 Author Subscriber Share Posted May 31, 2018 2 minutes ago, True Blue said: Favorite Asian national team, hope they do well. Tough group but hope they can qualify for the next round. Same here. Well, at least from those Asian nations that have qualified. Quite a few Bundesliga players in the squad as well, will be definitely keeping an eye on them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
True Blue Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Just now, nudge said: Same here. Well, at least from those Asian nations that have qualified. Quite a few Bundesliga players in the squad as well, will be definitely keeping an eye on them. I fancy South Korea too, but Japan is my favorite. Always dreamed to live in Japan, perfect country and perfect people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted May 31, 2018 Subscriber Share Posted May 31, 2018 one of the best national team kits for this World Cup hands down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber nudge+ Posted May 31, 2018 Author Subscriber Share Posted May 31, 2018 8 minutes ago, True Blue said: I fancy South Korea too, but Japan is my favorite. Always dreamed to live in Japan, perfect country and perfect people. Haha, wouldn't call any country or people perfect, but yeah, I get the appeal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted May 31, 2018 Subscriber Share Posted May 31, 2018 13 minutes ago, nudge said: Same here. Well, at least from those Asian nations that have qualified. Quite a few Bundesliga players in the squad as well, will be definitely keeping an eye on them. Is there any special reason why so many Japanese players are in the Bundesliga? Easier to move over? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber nudge+ Posted May 31, 2018 Author Subscriber Share Posted May 31, 2018 2 minutes ago, Mel81x said: Is there any special reason why so many Japanese players are in the Bundesliga? Easier to move over? I think there are a few reasons. Bundesliga was the place for the first Japanese (and South Korean) players to start their careers in Europe a few decades ago already, when the majority of European clubs weren't very keen on Asian players, I think the style of play (less physical, more technical) suits them very well. Also, I think Japanese and German cultures mesh well and there are a lot of similarities, so it's easier for the players to adapt and fit in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Mel81x+ Posted May 31, 2018 Subscriber Share Posted May 31, 2018 Just now, nudge said: I think there are a few reasons. Bundesliga was the place for the first Japanese (and South Korean) players to start their careers in Europe a few decades ago already, when the majority of European clubs weren't very keen on Asian players, I think the style of play (less physical, more technical) suits them very well. Also, I think Japanese and German cultures mesh well and there are a lot of similarities, so it's easier for the players to adapt and fit in. There have been some great Asian players through the times and I never really questioned why they would go there but it makes sense now. Thanks for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber nudge+ Posted May 31, 2018 Author Subscriber Share Posted May 31, 2018 1 minute ago, Mel81x said: There have been some great Asian players through the times and I never really questioned why they would go there but it makes sense now. Thanks for that. I don't know if the up-to-date figures are still the same, but at some point, Japan was third when it comes to non-German players in the league, and only Austria and Switzerland had more, which is not surprising, considering the proximity and the language, so I think it's really extraordinary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan Posted May 31, 2018 Administrator Share Posted May 31, 2018 all hail Shinji (Okazaki) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
God is Haaland Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 https://twitter.com/JohnSulo/status/1010954239999401984/video/1 Weebs everyone... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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