Hajime Moriyasu says he needs time to decide future as Japan coach after World Cup exit

TOKYO (AP) — Hajime Moriyasu was expected to confirm on Thursday he was staying as head coach of the Japan men’s soccer team, but instead he said he needed time to relax and review the World Cup results before deciding his future.

“I think I’ll take a bit of a break now and then I’ll need to properly reflect on the tournament,” Moriyasu told a press conference, with Japan Football Association officials also attending. “That’s all that’s been decided so far.”

He was upbeat, though, about the future of the sport in the country.

“Japanese soccer, built up over history, is more than capable of holding its own on the world stage,” Moriyasu said. “I am convinced that if we continue this growth we will certainly be able to become world champions.”

Moriyasu guided his team to the round of 32 at the World Cup before falling 2-1 this week to five-time champion Brazil.

Japan has consistently progressed in the last two decades but has yet to win a match in the knockout stages at the World Cup.

Moriyasu took over after the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He guided Japan to the knockout stage in the 2022 edition in Qatar, losing to Croatia on penalties.

Japan FA president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto also told the news conference that the association needed time for a debrief. He had suggested earlier to local media that the JFA wanted Moriyasu to stay on.

Some reports suggest he will get a one-year extension for the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia early in 2027. Qatar is the defending champion and Japan will be among the favorites to win the continent’s top soccer prize.

Twenty-four teams have already qualified for the event. Japan will play in Group F with Indonesia, Qatar and Thailand.

(AP photo journalist Alessandro Libri also contributed to this story).

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