NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Having opened their World Cup campaign with a creditable 2-2 draw with the Netherlands, Japan players on Monday were determined to avoid repeating the second-match pitfall which saw the Samurai Blue upset by Costa Rica at the previous tournament.
A day after earning a valuable point against the European giants at Dallas Stadium, the players were also on high alert for Saturday's encounter with a Tunisian side who sacked manager Sabri Lamouchi in the wake of their 5-1 mauling by Sweden.
Hajime Moriyasu's Japan produced a huge upset to open their 2022 World Cup in Qatar with a 2-1 comeback win over Germany before jeopardizing their chance of progress with a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica, who looked dead and buried following a 7-0 thrashing by Spain.
"After hitting Germany on counters, we were the ones with possession against Costa Rica, and we got beaten on a counter ourselves," Japan captain Ko Itakura recalled after the squad trained at their base camp in the suburbs of Nashville, Tennessee.
"But we have a common view of that experience...What's really important now is how we approach the game, making sure we are on the same page."
Tunisia said on their Instagram that Lamouchi, a former teammate of Japan icon Hidetoshi Nakata at Parma, had been replaced by Mondher Kebaier on an interim basis ahead of the Group F meeting between the two countries in Monterrey, Mexico.
The sight of Lamouchi on the touchline could have been a painful reminder for Japan fans of the 2014 World Cup, when he managed the Ivory Coast to a 2-1 comeback win against the Samurai Japan inspired by star man Didier Drogba off the bench.
Former Inter Milan fullback Yuto Nagatomo, who played in that game in Brazil, was adamant Japan should not be swayed by their opening draw with the Netherlands, or the managerial change by the Africans who, like Costa Rica in 2022, appear to be in turmoil.
"There was expectedly a sense of relief (in 2022) after beating Germany (and) that is something that we can never allow to happen again," the 39-year-old said.
"We don't know what kind of football (Tunisia) will come up with after they change their manager. We could be caught off guard if we don't pull ourselves together, and we have to have a sense of urgency."
