Dubbed "Old Man Japan" by fans and media, the country's oldest-ever World Cup squad is finally exhibiting a brand of football they were unable to play at the previous tournament, veteran Keisuke Honda said Tuesday.
The Samurai Blue went to Brazil in 2014 with high expectations but came away disappointed after finishing bottom of their group, their only point coming from a 0-0 draw with 10-man Greece.
The Alberto Zaccheroni-coached side crashed out of the tournament with a heartbreaking 4-1 loss to Colombia in their final group game.
(Honda (R) and his teammates trudge off the pitch after their 4-1 hammering by Colombia in Brazil)
Four years later, the team has already outperformed predictions, sitting joint top of Group H after two matches, the most recent a 2-2 draw with Senegal in which they largely contained the African side's dangerous attack while pressuring them with ball retention and quick passing.
"I think we prepared ourselves to come back to the World Cup one more time after 2014 and try to deliver results, and results haven't been bad in our last two games," said the 32-year-old playmaker, now appearing in his third World Cup.
"I get the impression that (coach Akira) Nishino just happens to have us playing the kind of football we wanted to play (in Brazil) in 2014."
"I think the way we battled in particular against Senegal was what we had aimed to do in 2014. We expressed ourselves with what I had long described as 'our football'."
Despite avenging their painful 2014 loss to Colombia with a 2-1 win in their first match in Russia, Honda said Japan were "not good" at Mordovia Area, where the South Americans played 87 minutes with only 10 men.
(Gaku Shibasaki (R) and Yuya Osako (L) celebrate with Honda after his equalizer in a 2-2 draw with Senegal in Russia)
Against Senegal, however, Nishino's men were able to adjust their game plan according to their opponents' defensive scheme, setting playmaker Shinji Kagawa deeper and pulling Takashi Inui in from the left wing to create space and cause confusion.
Honda said a key to Japan's success at the tournament so far was fixating less on sticking to a certain playing style while at the same time putting greater emphasis on nullifying their opponents' game plan.
"Maybe the way we think about the essence of football and our values have changed," the midfielder for Mexican side Pachuca said.
The Samurai Blue will be hoping to continue their strong showing in Thursday's final group-stage match against Poland in Volgograd.
Japan need a point from the match to progress to the knockout stage, while Poland are only playing for pride, having already been eliminated following losses to Senegal and Colombia.
(Honda was the star of Japan's team at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where they reached the last 16 for only the second time)
