AFC Asian Cup: persistence pays off as Japan warm up with friendly New Year’s Day win over Thailand
- After goalless first half, four-time Asian champions put five past opponents in front of 60,000-strong crowd
- Coach Hajime Moriyasu hails team’s persistence but urges players to keep improving
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu hailed his team’s persistence after they warmed up for this month’s Asian Cup with a 5-0 friendly win over Thailand in Tokyo on Monday.
The four-time Asian champions were held scoreless in the first half in front of a New Year’s Day crowd of more than 60,000 in Tokyo before breaking Thailand’s resistance after the interval.
Japan will start as one of the favourites to win the regional tournament in Qatar, and Moriyasu said they would need to show the same spirit when the tournament kicks off on January 12.
“They weren’t an easy team to break down but the players attacked with positivity,” said Moriyasu, who was set to name his 26-man squad for the tournament later in the day.
“It didn’t happen for us at first but we stuck to the task and kept attacking time and time again, and we got our reward with our goals in the end.”
Moriyasu fielded an inexperienced line-up missing several overseas-based players against a Thailand side that is also heading to the Asian Cup.