Brazil vs Japan has become more than a friendly marker for Hajime Moriyasu’s side. Japan beat Brazil before arriving in North America, then followed that with a win over England at Wembley and two opening games played to plan.
That run tracks back to a 58-page manifesto the JFA released four years ago, built around a World Cup by 2050 and a line on the first page: “To become the happiest country in the world through football.” Moriyasu has spent almost eight years as head coach, after serving as assistant before that, and has shaped Japan into a 3-4-3 side that now looks organised in the places the blueprint values most.
The Japan Way at Wembley
Thomas Tuchel called Japan “Well-drilled,” after the game at Wembley, and the result fit the description. Against Thomas Tuchel’s rotated team, Japan were canny, tenacious and ruthless, which is exactly the sort of execution the blueprint asks for when it talks about a “seamless transition in attack and defence.”
The attacking side is just as direct. The Japan Way says the aim is to “decide the match with getting the goal,” and the team’s recent results show how little time they need to turn a spell of control into a scoreline. Japan are not trying to own matches through possession alone; they are trying to end them with the fewest seconds possible between winning the ball and reaching a shooting position.
Moriyasu and Europe’s leagues
Japan’s defensive plan is built on a proactive mentality. The blueprint uses the phrase “play proactively,” then folds in speed on and off the ball, fast pressing to win possession back, and quick thinking in the passing game. That is the mechanism behind a team that can arrive in North America and keep producing the same shape of result against stronger opposition.
There is a complication inside the promise. The manifesto says Japan still lack height against many opponents, yet it also says “Japan as physically weak is a thing of the past.” The answer it gives is not size for size’s sake; it is tempo, timing and placement, asking, “What is more important is ‘when, where, and how to utilise that speed?’”
Sweden in Dallas
Japan have already followed that prescription in the opening two games of a difficult group, and they look well set to advance before Sweden in Dallas at 12am BST on Friday. With more players now performing in Europe’s big leagues, the national plan is no longer just an outline on paper; it is shaping results against Brazil, England and the next test in front of them.
