Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu has frequently used “two categories, one team” to describe his approach to the current international soccer cycle as he has looked to build an under-24 team capable of Olympic success and integrate that generation into the senior Samurai Blue squad.
But, as has often been the case at international tournaments over the last decade and beyond, it is usually a case of “one team, two Japans.”
The first Japan is indecisive and hesitant, unable to capitalize on chances and reluctant to seize the initiative — even against inferior opposition.