There has been plenty written in the press about the tournament giants on the road to the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada – the USA, Germany and France. But little has been said recently of current FIFA World Champions Nadeshiko of Japan, and yet something makes it seem that this is the way they like it.
The Japanese are extremely sensitive to what others might think of them and the nation is extremely insular. What we do know is that anything about football or Nadeshiko must be governed by the concept of wa or ‘peaceful unity and conformity in a group’ and this must ensure that everybody in the loop is content with what is said and written.
Most information that comes out of Tokyo has been approved for release by the Japan Football Association (JFA), responsible for the administration of the game and of course national teams including Nadeshiko, and they, quite rightly, inform on a need to know basis.
This is what we do know – head coach Norio Sasaki earned worldwide fame in 2011 when he led the team to the FIFA Women’s World Cup after defeating Germany in the final, Sweden and the USA in the group stages. Ranked fourth, Japan will begin their title defence against Switzerland, Cameroon and Ecuador, a decisively easier path to the knock-out stages than last time round.
Nadeshiko achieved a silver medal at the London Olympics and defeated Australia 1-0 to win the 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, however, their form of late has not been as promising, going down to Denmark 2-1 and France 3-1. Yet it was obvious that Sasaki was in the process of giving experience to younger players in a tournament with little importance.
Do not be fooled by recent form in the Algarve Cup, as Sasaki’s team are striving to win successive World Cups in Canada. With this dream run to the final stages and with renewed confidence under their coach they could indeed reach that goal, especially with a fully supportive nation of Nadeshiko followers bound by cutural wa traditions.
“I think I have a better team now than I did in 2011,” said the FIFA Women’s Coach of the Year, which is a sobering thought for the other competing teams.
Prior to winning the FIFA 2011 Women’s World Cup, Japan had previously only reached the knockout stage once in Sweden in 1995, highlighting the improvement in development and growth in the game since 2008 when Sasaki took over.
What Nadeshiko lack in stature they more than make up for in technical ability, tenacity and mental strength. Come June the Japanese will certainly be there with the virtue of silent sacrifice in the nation’s cause to defend their title.
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You may wish to fact-check the article. In the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup Japan defeated Germany in the quarter-final and Sweden in the semi-final – and didn’t meet either in the group stage – then winning the final on penalties against USA.
I agree with other commenter: How could some simple facts about the final rounds of the 2011 World Cup be so incorrect and get published? It raises the question of whether he author–or anyone else at outside90.com–actually watched the 2011 tournament. As someone who has written scholarly articles on women’s soccer in Japan–and done research on the topic for over two decades–I can tell you that the assertion that Japan soccer is “governed by the concept of wa” is an uninformed fabrication as well. It’s readily accepted by readers, I’m sure, because it fits with the stereotypes about Japan held by many–but not true to how Japan soccer works, or to the history and everyday realities of the Nadeshiko team. It’s fine to report that little information about the team is released by the JFA, since this is probably true; however, to attribute this fact to some Japanese cultural trait is not only inaccurate but not very informative. I would imagine there are many more interesting reasons–both inside and outside the country–why we don’t get more English-language reporting about the team. A lack of Japanese language ability is probably a big factor (all of the players have personal blogs). A general lack of knowledge about Japan could be another. The fact that the ONE quote from Sasaki in this piece was pulled from an April 14 fifa.com article and appears in at least a half-a-dozen articles that came out in the last week is telling.
You are quite right Japan won the final against the United States on a penalty shoot-out following a 2–2 draw after extra time and became the first Asian team to win a FIFA World Cup.
My apologies for the mistake.