Chapter 859: Rodri, This Was a Fixed Match, Right?

【Japan National Team Head Coach】

【Hajime Moriyasu】

"This was a great match; it proves that the Japanese team can achieve anything. I am proud of our players, and I am proud of Japanese football."

"Did you ever consider today ending in a 1:1 draw?"

"Yes, I did consider it."

Hajime Moriyasu smiled and nodded; after winning the match to secure first place in Group D, the Japanese head coach was truly basking in glory: "I considered every possibility, even including defeating Spain, but unfortunately, we have not managed to do that just yet."

"Japan's goal is to win the World Cup championship in 2030, and this objective will not change."

"Since you advanced as the group winner, your opponent in the Round of 16 will be Argentina; have you taken this into account? Perhaps you could have lost this match, so your next opponent wouldn't be Argentina, but China instead."

"..."

Upon hearing this question, Hajime Moriyasu fell silent first.

"In fact..."

"Compared to China, we would prefer to face Argentina in the Round of 16."

It was a bit embarrassing, but this statement indeed represented the current situation of the Japanese team.

The Japanese team could create miracles, but there was an even greater miracle looming over their heads.

At least in the view of the Japanese coaching staff, the probability of pulling off an upset against Argentina to advance was higher than defeating the Chinese team to advance.

Poor Mr. Moriyasu still hadn't stepped out from Tang Ye's shadow!

Click-clack! Click-clack!

"Mr. Moriyasu, did having such thoughts stem from the influence of the Asian qualifiers? In the past few Asian qualifiers and Asian Cups, you have yet to defeat China."

Click-clack! Click-clack!

"... That is correct; this is the truth. We have lost consecutively to China, and in recent years, our best result has even been just a draw."

Hajime Moriyasu lowered his head, then quickly raised it again: "I admit that the Chinese team is very strong; Tang Sang is a historic-level player, and Ferran is a great coach. Currently, Japan falls short of China in many aspects, but I promise all Japanese fans that Japan's current lag is only temporary."

"Chinese players are great, but we Japanese players have the determination and courage to catch up!"

"Arigato! (Thank you!)"

After speaking, Hajime Moriyasu bowed 90 degrees toward the camera.

Seeing this, fans from other countries had no reaction, but Japanese domestic fans were already teary-eyed.

Mr. Moriyasu!

We are willing to follow you for a lifetime!

As long as there is determination and courage, using full courage to forge great friendship and bonds, catching up to the great dark horse China is truly just a matter of time. At least, that is what Japanese fans believe.

Rodri interview: "TY called me before the match to say 'good luck,' and I feel I let him down. I didn't expect to lose to Japan; the Japanese team's possession and control system was excellent, and they played high-level football."

Hajime Moriyasu interview: "Prefers facing Argentina over China; believes the Japanese team can create miracles; vows to catch up to China before 2026, with the goal of winning the World Cup championship in 2030."

Sky Sports commentator Jason: "The match between Japan and Spain must have been a fixed game; throughout the entire match, only Rodri and Olmo from Spain were playing seriously."

A prestigious European powerhouse actually got taken down by Japan?

If you said China beat Spain, that would be understandable, after all, China has a big brother.

But what does Japan have to justify this?

On what grounds could Japan beat Spain?

After this match ended, many European fans and even media reporters jumped out, with Jason being the angriest among them.

This commentator from Sky Sports stated that the reason Japan managed to draw with Spain was mainly because Flick did not want to face Argentina in the Round of 16, so he did not let the players go all out in the match.

Let's think about it from another angle.

If the Spanish players had really gone all out, then why did they only score one goal against Japan?

Moreover, this sole goal came from Rodri, who was filling in as a defender!

"There is only one truth: in the Spain-Japan match, Rodri was the only one on the Spanish team determined to win; everyone else had ulterior motives, believing China would be easier to bully than Argentina."

"I am very disappointed by this; Spain's approach is absolutely wrong. China's ability to defeat Argentina in the group stage is definitely not 'purely relying on luck' as some online claims suggest; TY will create trouble for any Spain team wanting to advance to the Round of 16."

The group stage proceeded quickly; just a few days after the national football team's matches concluded, all the knockout stage results were out.

Appendix: 2022 Qatar World Cup Knockout Stage Bracket Situation (Round of 16):

Upper Half: 【Netherlands vs USA】, 【China vs Spain】; 【France vs South Korea】, 【Brazil vs Uruguay】.

Lower Half: 【England】 vs 【Senegal】, 【Japan vs Argentina】; 【Switzerland vs Poland】, 【Portugal vs Morocco】.

At first glance, one discovers there are actually three Asian teams participating in the Round of 16, with both China and Japan advancing as group winners; this is truly the light of Asia.

However, looking at the Round of 16 draw, none of these three Asian teams are lucky.

Spain, Argentina, France...

These are the opponents for the three Asian brothers in the first round of the knockout stage!

Seeing this result, one might even suspect FIFA is deliberately targeting Asian teams, not wanting any Asian squad to advance to the quarterfinals.

In reality, FIFA is also innocent, because which half of the bracket you are in and your opponent in the knockout stage are determined by the group stage draw and match results, without interference from other factors.

If you are the group winner, your first-round opponent must be the group runner-up; if you are the group runner-up, then your opponent is naturally the group winner.

The situation the three Asian brothers now face must still be blamed on Argentina and Spain.

Ask Messi and Rodri why teams ranked in the FIFA top ten like theirs could perform this poorly in the group stage?

Of course, for most reporters, they hope even more to get a direct interview opportunity with Tang Ye.

"After failing your prediction and ending the broadcast in humiliation, Mr. Tang, how do you feel right now?"

【Incoming Call】

【Rod】

Beep!

Tang Ye answered the voice call, pressing the phone to his ear: "... Rod."

"Hey, Tom? Did you see the news? Listen to me, truly, I didn't know it would turn out like this... I never thought we wouldn't be able to beat Japan."