Takumi Minamino: Chinese Players Have Good Physique and Skills; We Need to Be Wary When Playing Away

In the first match of the Asian qualifiers for the World Cup, Japan defeated China 7-0. Japanese midfielder Takumi Minamino scored two goals in the second half, securing the victory for his team. With this, his total number of goals in A-level matches for the national team has reached 23, tying him with Naohiro Takahara’s record, making him the 11th top scorer in the history of the Japanese national team, and he was named the best player of the match.

After the game, Minamino said, “This is the first match of the qualifiers. I have experience from previous games. Last time we started with a loss, so this time we had to be more careful. We maintained an excellent performance throughout the 90 minutes.”

Speaking about the Chinese team, Minamino commented, “During our pre-match analysis, we knew they had some players with excellent physique and skills. They demonstrated targeted long passes and strong physical challenges, which caused us some trouble. However, as the score gradually increased, the situation became increasingly favorable for us.”

He added, “But we need to realize that when they play at home, their performance might be different, so we must remain vigilant.”

In this match, the Japanese team used a 3-4-2-1 formation. Minamino explained, “I was already very familiar with this formation from my time playing for Monaco last year, so I adapted to it very smoothly personally. Facing China’s tight defense in the first half, we relied on our skill and constant running to create space and find opportunities to break through. Although we created several chances in the first half, in the second half, with the help of my teammates, I finally managed to score.”

In the 7th minute of the second half, Minamino received a pass from Kaoru Mitoma, cleverly bypassed the opposing defender, and scored with a right-footed shot into the far corner. Then, in the 13th minute, he found another opportunity, inserting himself into the center of the penalty area, and calmly placed the ball into the lower right corner of the goal with his right foot, completing a brace.