On September 5th, in the Asian Qualifiers for the World Cup, the national team lost 0-7 away to Japan. At the post-match press conference, the national team’s head coach, Ivanković, stated that many goals should not have been conceded in this match. However, he also reiterated that 12 new players were called up for this training camp, and this match provided them with very valuable experience and lessons.
Coach Ivanković first said, “Congratulations to the Japanese team on their victory today; their performance is unquestionable. As I mentioned before the game, Japan is a world-class team with very high-level players. We had a tough game today, and as a coach, this is one of my most difficult nights.”
When asked about his evaluation of the national team’s defense, Ivan replied, “For the upcoming nine matches, we do need to make a good summary. In our previous preparations, we did a lot of work on defense, but today, indeed, many goals should not have been conceded. We need to seriously analyze and solve the problems that arose in our defense with the players when we return.”
Speaking about the adjustments made in the second half, Ivan said, “For us, the goals conceded towards the end of the first half made us feel the issues. We increased the number of defenders in the second half, hoping to strengthen our transitions between attack and defense. However, problems emerged in the positions that needed emphasis the most, which we will need to analyze and resolve later. I also want to emphasize that 12 players in this training camp are newcomers to the national team, and such a match brought very valuable experience and lessons to the young players.”
When asked if the 0-7 defeat by the Japanese team was unexpected, Ivan said, “I have always emphasized the strength of the Japanese team, and we made many preparations. We anticipated that the match would be difficult. We still need to strengthen our preparations for subsequent matches and use the international break to prepare more thoroughly.”