Sano Kaishu: My individual performance was terrible, but the team played very well

According to Yahoo Japan, Japan national team midfielder Kaishu Sano spoke about his FIFA World Cup debut.

Kaishu Sano played the full match in Japan's opening FIFA World Cup Group F match against the Netherlands on June 14. He delivered a composed performance on the FIFA World Cup stage, but was very critical in his self-assessment after the match.

Speaking about playing on a major stage like the FIFA World Cup for the first time, Kaishu Sano said: "Through this training camp, I felt the weight of the FIFA World Cup in many ways." Regarding playing the full match, he said: "I wanted to reflect those feelings well in the match, but I feel I could have done more, and I will continue to work hard."

In this match, Kaishu Sano partnered with Kamada in a deep-lying midfield position, and for most of the game, he had to stay coordinated with his teammates to deal with the Netherlands' passing and control. He also initiated counterattacks after winning the ball, but Kaishu Sano said: "Personally, it was completely inadequate." At the same time, he also spoke about the team's performance: "From the team's perspective, I think it was very good. I want to continue to increase what I can do."

The Japan national team spent the second half trailing and fighting back. Kaishu Sano said the team's mindset at the time was, "even if we concede a goal, we can't collapse," which helped Japan equalize twice. He said: "I think this match demonstrated this very well. This was a match that could lay the foundation for the next one. Of course, I wanted to win, but a draw is also a positive result."

After earning 1 point, the Japan national team will play their second group match against Tunisia on June 21 . Speaking about their pursuit of victory, Kaishu Sano said: "The next match is really important. Nothing is set yet, so the whole team needs to look ahead to the next match and prepare again from scratch."