DOHA: Japan failed to reach the World Cup quarter-finals once again but stunning wins over Germany and Spain and more players moving to Europe suggest the Blue Samurai will return stronger.
Japan were eliminated by Croatia in the last 16 on Monday in Qatar, going out on penalties after a nerve-jangling 1-1 draw with the 2018 finalists.
It was the fourth time Japan had exited at the first knock-out stage and denied them a much-coveted quarter-final debut in their seventh straight World Cup appearance.
But the four-times Asian champions showed that they can compete with the world鈥檚 best in Qatar, beating both Germany and Spain 鈥� two former champions 鈥� to point toward brighter times ahead.
Coach Hajjime Moriyasu said it was not possible to 鈥渢urn into Superman overnight鈥� but he believes Japan are on the right path.
鈥淲e weren鈥檛 able to overcome this hurdle of losing in the last 16 and you might say that we didn鈥檛 achieve anything new,鈥� he said.
鈥淏ut the players have shown us something that we haven鈥檛 seen before by beating former champions like Germany and Spain.鈥�
The number of European-based players in Japan鈥檚 World Cup squads has steadily increased since they made their tournament debut in 1998 with an entirely domestic-based selection.
Moriyasu picked 19 European-based players in his 26-man squad for Qatar, including eight who ply their trade in Germany鈥檚 Bundesliga.
Japan had six players in the group stages of this season鈥檚 Champions League and Daichi Kamada won last season鈥檚 Europa League with Eintracht Frankfurt.
Midfielder Wataru Endo, who captains Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, said he wants to see Japan have enough European-based players 鈥渢o fill two teams.鈥�
鈥淭he quality of the Japan players is improving 鈥� we have more players at European clubs and that is good experience for us,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e need to have more players playing with European clubs 鈥� we need 20 or 30.
鈥淲e are improving but we weren鈥檛 good enough to get to the quarter-finals.鈥�

- Grass-roots support -

Japan鈥檚 player exodus to Europe has come at the expense of the domestic J-League.
Only seven home-based players were named in Moriyasu鈥檚 squad and fans of local clubs now find opportunities to watch national team stars few and far between.
Japan defender Yuto Nagatomo, who plays for FC Tokyo, urged Japanese fans to support their local J-League club for the benefit of the national team.
鈥淢ost of the players in the squad came up through the J-League and now they play overseas,鈥� said Nagatomo, who returned to FC Tokyo last year after an 11-year stint in Europe.
鈥淭here will be a J-League team in most people鈥檚 local area. We need to support them.
鈥淚f we get excited about the J-League it will help the players grow and give them motivation, then they鈥檒l go overseas and help the national team.鈥�
Japan鈥檚 next immediate challenge is to win the Asian Cup, which will be held in Qatar, likely in early 2024.
It remains to be seen if Moriyasu will still be in charge, with the Japan Football Association set to decide his fate when the team return home.
Veterans like Nagatomo and captain Maya Yoshida are likely to make way for a younger generation, with emerging stars such as Ritsu Doan and Kaoru Mitoma set to take center stage.
Goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, who was named in the squad as a back-up after playing at the previous three World Cups, said Japan鈥檚 2022 team was their 鈥渂est ever鈥� at the tournament.
He backed the young players to take on a leading role and use their heartbreak to make Japan stronger.
鈥淲e have a lot of young players and this experience will be massive for the team,鈥� said the 39-year-old.
鈥淭he game is just finished but I want the players, particularly the young players, to lead us forward.鈥�