DOHA, Qatar -- Japan skipper Wataru Endo believes he's getting "better and better" with every game at the Asian Cup and is adamant club boss Jürgen Klopp's recently announced departure from Liverpool won't affect his efforts to lead the Samurai Blue to continental glory.
Japan cruised through to the quarterfinals of the Asian on Wednesday afternoon, professionally dispatching Bahrain 3-1 thanks to goals from Ritsu Doan, Takefusa Kubo, and Ayase Ueda.
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Endo started and anchored his side's midfield for the full 90 minutes at the Al Thumama Stadium, making it four Asian Cup games from four in which he has logged a full game for coach Hajime Moriyasu's side. Fatigue, though, is far from the 30-year-old's mind.
"My condition is actually getting better and better," he said after the Bahrain game, speaking through a Japanese Football Association (JFA) translator.
"I think I can even play better in the next game. I am the captain of the team and I think I need to set an example. I need to be the leader of the team."
In defeating Bahrain, Japan moved into a quarterfinal meeting with Syria or Iran on Feb. 3, ensuring that Endo and the rest of the squad's Premier League contingent -- such as Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu -- will miss at least one more matchday of the club campaign. Should they reach the final on Feb. 10, that would render them unavailable for an additional week.
However, the Liverpool midfielder will return to a different Anfield than the one he left, knowing that Klopp will not be his coach next season after the German announced his intention to step down last week.
"It was big news when I heard it," he said. "I was a bit sad. But to be honest, it doesn't really affect me, performance wise.
"All I have to do now is concentrate on my performances with the national team and try to win the trophy and bring back the winners' trophy to Liverpool."
Of more immediate concern for Endo and his teammates is reinforcing what has been an uncharacteristically leaky backline in Doha: the Samurai Blue are yet to keep a clean sheet across games against Vietnam, Iraq, Indonesia and now Bahrain.
"I know that we have to make this right," he said. "We have to play with 100% concentration for the 90 minutes. If we do that, we ill improve for the next games coming."
"We wanted to keep a clean sheet today," Tomiyasu added to reporters post-game. "We need to try to keep a clean sheet next game.
"As a defender, I want a clean sheet every time I'm on the pitch."
After coming into the Asian Cup under an injury cloud that forced him to miss their opening win over Vietnam and come off the bench in their surprise 2-1 defeat to Iraq, Tomiyasu has started Japan's last two fixtures. Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma, meanwhile, made his first appearance of the Asian Cup in Wednesday's win.
"I was injured but I'm fit now," Tomiyasu said. "I missed the first game but I'm fit and my condition is getting better and better.
"We are not in the best form now. We could have done better today. We should have done better, especially in the second half. We needed to kill the game after going 2-0 up, we gave them hope because they scored. We needed to manage the game better and close the game well."
Attacker Junya Ito didn't feature against Bahrain after a report from Japanese outlet Shukan Shincho emerged saying the 30-year-old was the subject of a criminal complaint by two women accusing him of sexual assault.
"We are aware of the article published in Japanese weekly magazine," said Moriyasu, speaking through a JFA translator.
"I think the association will try to confirm what has happened, confirm the facts with the player. So until then, I would like to refrain from any actions."
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February 01, 2024 at 01:02AM
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