Japan will be out for revenge when they face Brazil on Saturday.
It was, after all, Brazil that ended Samurai Blue’s World Cup campaign in the summer, dumping a highly-fancied Japan team out of the tournament in the round of 32 when many predicted they would go much further.
Saturday’s friendly match in Singapore is also expected to be the first part of Hajime Moriyasu’s farewell as national team manager, the second part being a meeting with Paraguay a few days later.
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These will almost certainly be his final two matches in charge after it was confirmed that the 2027 Asian Cup has been pushed back due to safety concerns in Saudi Arabia.
Moriyasu has been Japan boss for the best part of a decade, but was unable to push Samurai Blue any closer to World Cup glory. Japan has still never won a World Cup knockout match.
They never won the Asian Cup under Moriyasu either, making the 58-year-old’s legacy a complicated one. Japan’s talent level increased under Moriyasu, but what role did he truly play in that?
A successor to Moriyasu has already been named, but will a new manager do anything to take Japan to a new level?
