AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023 Rival Watch: Japan

Japan are currently the favourites to move onto the knockout stages.

The AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023 kicked off on June 15 – marking its return after a five-year hiatus due to Covid-19 and other scheduling issues. All eyes will be on some of Asia’s best young players as they take centrestage and aim to lead their nations to glory.

An overwhelming favourite to win the tournament is, of course, defending champions Japan. The Samurai Blue have dominated this competition and won it three times in the past. Currently, they are on four points from two games.

The youth development structure in Japanese football has been optimized to its utmost potential over the last few decades, with many prime talents coming through their High School football system and excelling at the Qatar World Cup – with the likes of Ritsu Doan, Takefusa Kubo and Ko Itakura to name a few.

Like the previous edition, Japan have a strong squad heading into the upcoming AFC U-17 Asian Cup as they aim to add more silverware to their cabinet. Here is everything you should know about the Samurai Blue.

Recent Performances

Japan are heading into their AFC U-17 Asian Cup title defence on the back of some impressive form. They’ve played three competitive-friendly games in 2023 so far, winning two and drawing one in the process. That includes major wins over Mali and Comoros, as well as a draw against a talented Algeria U-17 side in March.

The Samurai Blue also ended 2022 in impressive fashion as they managed to organize friendly games against European heavyweights like Croatia, Sweden and Denmark to test their mettle.

Even though they ended up losing to the Croatian side, Japan fought hard to defeat both Sweden and Denmark in a compelling fashion – proving their capability of defeating the most daunting opposition.

In their very recent encounter however, they thrashed Vietnam 4-0!

About the Team

Japan’s U-17 team has been quite active since the 1980s and the first time they played at an AFC U-16 Championship (previously titled) was the inaugural one back in 1985. They have qualified for 15 editions so far, winning three times and finishing as runners-up once.

The Samurai Blue have an impressive record in the competition, having won 43 of their 70 matches so far and only losing 17 games. Japan U-17 have also qualified for the FIFA U-17 World Cup on nine occasions in their history, but have not been able to taste much success there.

In fact, their best-ever finish in the tournament was the 1993 and 2011 editions, when they were eliminated from the quarter-finals. When it comes to unofficial, friendly competitions – Japan’s U-17 side has also won the French Montaigu Tournament once, as well as the International Dream Cup (organized by the Japan FA) four times – most recently in 2022.

The Coach

Yoshiro Moriyama has played a major role in overseeing the success for Japan’s youth teams over the last decade or so. A former Japanese international footballer, the ex-defender spent his entire career playing in his country for J1 League sides like Sanfrecce Hiroshima as well as Bellmare Hiratsuka.

Soon after retiring in 1999, the Japanese footballer decided to transition to a coaching career and took charge of Sanfrecce Hiroshima’s U-18 team from 2002 – going onto be in charge of them for nearly a decade until 2011. During his time with Hiroshima, Moriyama managed to pave the way for stars like ex-FC Koln defender Tomoaki Makino.

The coach went onto take a new challenge in 2012, becoming the Japan U-15 team’s manager. Ultimately, his impressive work with developing the youngsters' talents and guiding them to positive results compelled the Japanese FA to hand him the keys to manage the U-16 and U-17 teams as well.

Moriyama helped the youth teams to a lot of success, ensuring that they play an exciting, action-packed brand of attacking football and dominated teams. He guided them to win the 2018 AFC U-17 Asian Cup, their first since 2006. Moriyama will aim to help them do the double this time around, while making Samurai Blue a team that plays fearless attacking football that guarantees a lot of goals.

Players to Watch

Rento Takaoka

Japan’s most dangerous outlet right now is their attacking core, which is packed with menacing talents. One such forward is Rento Takaoka, who has been performing well for Moriyama’s side in the last year or so. Takaoka is incisive and cunning with his movement, using his pace and trickery to get into free spaces with ease.

He scored in Japan’s recent wins against Comoros and Mali, proving his qualities against commendable opposition. Takaoka can be a thorn with the ball in his feet, being able to dribble past bodies with ease and is clinical in the final third – having been blessed with impressive finishing ability. The 16-year-old aims to prove his quality at the biggest stage in Asian Football and guide his side to glory.

Yutaka Michiwaki

The Samurai Blue have an absolute goal machine in the form of Yutaka Michiwaki to spearhead their frontline in the upcoming U-17 Asian Cup. The Roasso Kumamoto youth product has proven himself as a menacing threat at the youth level for Japan, having scored 11 goals in 12 appearances for them at the U-16 level.

He’s gained a reputation for being a ruthless striker, who perfectly times his movement to make himself available in key goal-scoring areas and puts away chances clinically. Michiwaki will aim to replicate his goal-scoring heroics at the major AFC tournament (he already scored two goals this time) and further consolidate his reputation as Japanese football’s next big thing.

What to Expect

Heading into the tournament as defending champions, Japan will have a lot of expectations on their shoulders. The Samurai Blue appear to have a really strong young core who are more than ready to test themselves against Asia’s best. It would be a surprise if Japan are not able to win their group, and they should be expected to go far into the competition.

Japan should at least make it to the semi-finals, if not the final, and unless they become complacent or let their guard down – they shouldn’t really suffer any embarrassment either. For Japan to win the Asian Cup again, however, they’ll need their biggest stars to perform at the optimum level and for their entire side to come up big against major opponents. What could almost be assured, however, is that the Samurai Blue will play a menacing brand of attacking football and pile many bodies forward to score a lot of goals.