Keisuke Honda volunteers to take over as Japan national team head coach for one year

Keisuke Honda. (File photo, taken by reporter Wu Mengru)

[Reporter Gong Naijie/Comprehensive Report] The Japanese team "Blue Warriors" are returning to Japan today. Head coach Mori Yasuichi will hold a press conference with Japan Football Association Chairman Miyamoto Tsuneyasu and others in downtown Tokyo later. The Japan Football Association has extended an invitation to Mori Yasuichi for a one-year contract and hopes that he will lead the team to compete in the Asian Cup next year. Whether he will take over will attract much attention. Japanese star Keisuke Honda recommended himself on social media today, "Please let me try for a year and see."

The 40-year-old Keisuke Honda holds the record for the most goals scored by a Japanese player in the World Cup. He serves as a commentator for this year's World Cup. He said today that he saw the news that the Football Association extended an invitation to Mori Yasuichi for a one-year contract extension. If this is just a transitional invitation when a successor cannot be found, "Then please let me try for a year and see. If I lose in the Asian Cup, I can be fired directly. I am willing to accept the challenge."

Yasuichi Mori has taken over the coaching duties of the national team since July 2018. In the 2022 Qatar World Cup, he led the team to defeat former world champions Germany and Spain in the group stage and advance to the top 16. Including this year, he has written the record for the most wins (3 wins) in the history of the Japanese team as a head coach in the World Cup. The topic of whether to stay or leave is expected to be discussed at the press conference in the evening.