On November 20, in response to the situation where China’s home ground was narrowed for the Sino-Japanese match, several Japanese football legends stated that China’s tactics are merely to lose more gracefully, but this will not stop Japan from securing a double victory away from home.
Satoshi Sato, a front-line reporter for Japanese media, was the one who exchanged views with Takefusa Kubo, which led to the discussion about the narrowing of the Xiamen Egret Stadium becoming a hot topic in both countries after the match.
Takefusa Kubo noted that the narrower field increased the speed of China’s counterattacks, making them comparable to European teams. Another Japanese football legend, Yasuhito Endo, also commented that China’s move was aimed at increasing their chances of winning. After the match, Satoshi Sato specifically inquired with the Chinese Football Association, but the response was “the dimensions were not well controlled.”
However, several Japanese football legends pointed out that the obvious markings on the pitch indicate that this was a deliberate action by the Chinese side. As long as it is within FIFA regulations, such minor tactics are not entirely unacceptable, and Japan’s strength will prevent China’s tricks from succeeding.
Japanese fans also expressed that Chinese football uses all its cleverness on these off-field tactics. If these efforts were directed towards development, perhaps Chinese football would not need to resort to such tricks.
