KAZAN, Russia -- Japan national team coach Akira Nishino apologized Friday to his players for the decision the day before to settle for a 1-0 loss to Poland in a successful bid to advance to the World Cup's knockout stage.
Opinions differed on the pros and cons of Japan's tactic of time wasting in the latter stages of the game, passing the ball around in its own half.
"I apologize for creating a situation in which you could not genuinely enjoy advancing to the knockout stage," Nishino was quoted as saying at a meeting before a practice session in Kazan, Russia.
His players understood the circumstances and were even more united ahead of the round of 16 match against Belgium.
"There would be no [debate] if we had won the match," defender Hiroki Sakai said. "I feel responsible [for putting Nishino] in the position to have to make such a decision."
Fellow defender Yuto Nagatomo added, "Now we can follow the manager's decisions without wavering."
Japan held a workout at their camp in Kazan on Friday to prepare for the match against Belgium, the world's No. 3 team in the FIFA ranking.
The match takes place on Monday (3 a.m. Tuesday, Japan time) in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
