FRANCE 98 – Argentina-Japan – Ihara: “We really could have scored”

Argentina-Japan – Ihara: “We really could have scored”

14.06.98 19h29 CET

Masami IHARA (4), captain of JAPAN (Group H)

“It’s a shame we didn’t win, because we really could have scored. We defended well, but their goal came from a lapse in concentration. However, we didn’t make any other mistakes. The Stadium was full, with many Japanese supporters in the crowd, but we also have many supporters in JAPAN, and we wanted to win for them. We needed a goal, but we didn’t score because we weren’t aggressive enough.”

Masashi NAKAYAMA (9)

This defeat was a real shame, but I hope we will win the next two matches. I’m very happy with the game we produced, but if I don’t score goals, I’m not doing my job. I hope I’ll score in the matches to come. We knew the Argentinians were strong, but we weren’t overawed, and were able to play our game. We are really pleased with our fans who have come all the way from JAPAN. We are proud that they gave us such great support.

Hidetoshi NAKATA (8)

Even during the game we did not feel we were being dominated. We really believed we were going to get something out of the match.”

Naoki SOMA (3)

I can’t express how I feel about the match. At the end of the day we lost. We had several scoring chances, but the Argentinians were more opportunist. We wanted to get the ball into their penalty area, but we weren’t able to equalise All our fans came a long way to support us, and I’m sure our team will get through the first round. The experience we have gained from this match will help us to win the next ones.”

Takashi HIRANO (22)

“In the last ten minutes after I came on, I wanted to create a scoring opportunity, but I couldn’t. We have to be more aggressive. When I came on at 1-0 down, I wanted to equalise because the Argentinians didn’t overly impress me, and I thought we might even win the game. It’s the first game, we were a bit tense.”