On January 1st, the members of Japan’s national football squad for the Qatar World Cup were confirmed. Genki Haraguchi, who scored in the previous round, failed not make the cut and was eliminated. Why couldn’t the 31-year-old midfielder, who has been a regular since 2015, be accepted?
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| [Genki Haraguchi] |
He was an important member of the Asian team that qualified for the World Cup after scoring a number of goals in the preliminary rounds held in Russia for the tournament four years ago. He scored one goal in this competition against Belgium, then he scored two goals in the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, which contributed to the team’s run to the championship game.
However, following that, there was also a surge from the younger generation, and the Japanese national team began several matches with players coming off the bench. However, during the previous season, he was an important contributor to the development of Union Berlin, the club to which he belongs. Furthermore, during the test match of the Japan national team that was conducted in June of this year, he started in three out of the four games. At this time, participation in the World Cup was considered to be a realistic possibility; nevertheless, a gloomy cloud would unexpectedly sweep in. The number of people in the starting line-up at Union Berlin has dropped significantly.
During the league match, there were games that took place outside of the bench, and the team was announced on this day in a situation in which they were unable to appeal in a manner that was deemed satisfactory. In preparation for Haraguchi, the Japanese national team switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation, which proved a disadvantage for them. In the 4-3-3 formation, which was implemented with June, Haraguchi excels at playing the inside half position; however, in the 4-2-3-1 formation, he will battle for the second row position. Haraguchi was forced to leave since there were already a lot of powerful players competing for this position, including Takefusa Kubo, Kaoru Mitoma, and Junya Ito.
On January 1st, the players of the Japanese national football squad who will compete in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar were revealed. In the previous competition, Genki Haraguchi was one of the players who scored a goal; however, he did not make it into the final roster of 26 players and was thus eliminated. Why is it that the 31-year-old midfielder, who has been active in the sport continuously since 2015, is unable to join the club?
Just now, we are going to introduce our members. In preparation for Haraguchi, the Japanese national team switched to a 4-2-3-1 formation, which proved a disadvantage for them. In the 4-3-3 formation, which was implemented with June, Haraguchi excels at playing the inside half position; however, in the 4-2-3-1 formation, he will battle for the second row position. Haraguchi was forced to leave since there were already a lot of powerful players competing for this position, including Takefusa Kubo, Kaoru Mitoma, and Junya Ito.