Bai Yansong comments on the Japanese men's football team: Not a top-tier team! Unable to control the entire match, still afraid of the Netherlands

On June 15, Beijing time, renowned presenter Bai Yansong addressed Japan's current standard on a show. He asserted that Japan's national football team is not yet a genuine top-tier powerhouse, as they have failed to fully control a game for the entire duration.

Bai Yansong elaborated on his opinion: "Japan remains a quasi-top team, not yet a true elite. Why? Notice that before the match, the Japanese head coach said: 'We have always shown great fighting ability when trailing.'"

"In fact, a top-tier team should have control throughout the entire match. But this time, Japan still fell behind, then equalized, fell behind again, and equalized again. The subtext of his words is: if we had taken the lead from the start, that would be the hallmark of a top-tier team."

"Also, after the match, Netherlands coach Koeman said that Japan's style is high pressing, but they didn't do it in this game. This shows that they had some fear of the Netherlands as an opponent. However, after falling behind, they started pressing high. Note the possession rate: Japan only 40%, Netherlands 60%."

"So the issue Japan faces now is: does it have the ability to control the game from the beginning like a truly top-tier team? That is the most important step they need to take next. If they cannot make that step, they will remain stuck here (as a quasi-top team)."

In this World Cup, the Japanese men's team drew with the Netherlands in their first match, coming from behind twice to equalize. Over the entire game, Japan had 40% possession, while the Netherlands had 60%. Both sides had 10 shots each; the Netherlands had 6 shots on target, while Japan had only 3 on target but scored 2 goals. Statistically, the two sides were evenly matched.

Previously, Japan's best result in World Cup history was reaching the round of 16. Their biggest goal this time is to surpass that achievement, making it to the quarterfinals or even further.