[World Cup]”Soccer that allows us to take the initiative” Wataru Endo FIFA World Cup Qatar (December 7, 2022)

At the FIFA World Cup 2022, the Japan national team lost to Croatia after a penalty shootout, finishing the tournament in the last 16. One day after the game, Wataru Endo, the representative of Japan, answered the interview. Q: How did you feel this morning? Endo: I’ve already made some changes, and of course I still have some regrets, but I woke up as usual. Q: The best 16 with the World Cup as the main force that you couldn’t participate in last time. Endo: Personally, compared to 4 years ago, this tournament was a tournament where I felt a lot of growth, and at the same time, I still have a wall in the best 16, or a wall in the world. I think it was a tournament that made me realize that it is still expensive. Q: I think that the role in the next team will be very big, but please Endo: Of course, personally, I would like to aim for the World Cup in the next four years, but on the other hand, I think that the competition will start in 4 years, so the members will change completely, and compared to the last tournament, the members have changed a lot this time. I have to continue to be active in. I have to go back to my club and keep playing, and this experience has become a huge thing for me. I would like to become a player who can contribute to that. Q: I can think of being a captain in the future, but what did you feel when you saw the captains so far, what kind of person do you want to be in the future? I also learned a lot, and there is no doubt that it is a big one. I think it’s a thing, so I don’t want to change my stance, or rather, I want to continue doing what I can do now, and I think I should think about it. Q: Are there any skills that worked well on the World Cup stage, and conversely, are there any abilities that you think are needed more? I think that the quality of play and how we can continue to do it without losing quality will probably become an issue in the future, and in terms of offense, I was able to show my strengths. There have been a few times, but after all, there are times when we need to increase the number of times we need to increase the accuracy of that point, and we also need to be more middle-of-the-road. I wanted to become a player who can contribute to victory. Q: How was it actually facing the world’s best midfield players? Endo: I had the impression that the players who had that kind of experience were very calm, but it’s not that they didn’t work at all. I think it’s a battle of how to bring out the goodness inside and how to erase the goodness of the opponent. Personally, I wonder if I’ve finally become a player who can compete on an equal footing with the world’s top players. We have to beat those people and win, and in that sense, I think there is still room for growth in Japanese football, including myself. Q: What do you think the future style of Japanese football should be? Or we want to keep possession of the ball more and move forward with the match. The ideal is to want to do it, but it’s quite difficult to achieve that ideal, and it’s difficult when you think about the fact that the other party is also aiming for the same place. After all, I want to play soccer where we can take the initiative. Q: Where do you want to be in 4 years? Endo: I don’t think the goal has changed. Anyway, until we can achieve 16 wins (best) and reach 8 (best), we’ll keep setting our goals there. So, right now, we’re in the middle of nowhere, so first of all, it’s important to achieve the (best) 8, and in the next four years, it’s important to build a team that can go even higher. I think so. Q: What about next year’s Asian Cup? Endo: I want to win there. Personally, I participated in the last tournament, but I got injured at the end and couldn’t participate, so this time I want to show the strength of Japan in Asia.
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