At the FIFA World Cup 2022, the Japan national team lost to Croatia after a penalty shootout, finishing the tournament in the last 16. Japan representative Shogo Taniguchi answered the interview. Q: What is your state of mind after the World Cup? Taniguchi: The first thing that comes to mind after the end of the day is that it was really frustrating. Q: What is your role in the Croatia match? I was able to score a goal at , so I think it wasn’t a bad match. As a result, we conceded a goal in the second half, and little by little we lost power. I had to be able to go with the aim of that, and I feel that I have to. Q: Concerning the scene where the goal was conceded Taniguchi: Honestly, I feel that it was a little looser overall during the time, and the opponents started to use simpler attacks, so the scariest thing was the cross. We lost a goal in the same way in the match against Spain, so I feel that we should have pursued that aspect more and more. Q: What did you feel through the tournament? Taniguchi: Of course, I think that the level of Japan is rising, but the level of the world is rising in the same way, or even more than that. I have to get better and get stronger. But, of course, I got the feeling that I could compete, so I think that using this disappointment as a springboard, everyone will grow even more in their respective places. I would like to visit. Q: What do you need to do in order for the J.League to thrive with the success of the national team? In that sense, not only the players who are currently playing in the J (league), but also the boys and girls who are aiming to become soccer players in the future should set their goals high and always We should not be satisfied with the current situation, or rather, if we do not work with the feeling that we must do more, we will be left behind by the world. Japan’s soccer has set a goal of making it to the top 8 or better in the World Cup, so in order to achieve that goal, the J-League and Japanese soccer should be strengthened more and more. I have a vague idea that I have to decide on something like that. Q: What position do you want to be in the national team for the next tournament? (Yoshida) Maya, and (Sakai) Hiroki. The way the veteran players who have experienced the World Cup prepared, I really felt the weight of each word. Then, for the next four years, I definitely have no intention of resigning or giving up on the national team, and of course I want to fight for Japan again if needed, so that’s why. 4 years is quite a long time, but I would like to take on various challenges in my own way so that I can grow. Q: Which part do you want to focus on and build up over the next four years? But mentally, I’ve become a lot stronger, and I can fight against opponents without hesitation even in this kind of World Cup stage. We were able to prove that we can win if we fight with the Japanese way of fighting and endure it together, so in that sense, we need to do the same from now on, or even make more efforts. I feel that I can’t. I believe that each of us has no choice but to take the results of this tournament seriously and move on.
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