By Joel Fitzpatrick,
Kaoru Mitoma has made a name for himself with some dynamic performances for Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Premier League this season, and now he says it is time to do the same for Japan.
On the pitch, the 25-year-old oozes confidence, and he is apparently bringing that attitude to his first World Cup.
"The Premier League is high intensity and a high level so this helps me a lot, of course," he told media assembled at Japan's training venue in the Al Sadd neighborhood of Doha on Sunday.
"After playing in the first 11 (for Brighton) I feel like I have a little bit of confidence. From now I have to play more games and, as I said, it will help me a lot against Germany."
After returning to southern England after a one-year loan at Belgian outfit Royale Union Saint-Gilloise, Mitoma has established himself as one of Brighton's most important players.
His play on the left wing has helped the Seagulls get off to a stellar start to the season that has them in seventh on the league table at the World Cup break, one point behind Liverpool and ahead of Chelsea on goal difference.
Leading into the World Cup, though, he fell ill and missed his club's final game before the break, causing Japan fans to worry he may not be ready to go on Wednesday.
But Mitoma said he is 100 percent healthy now, while declining to go into detail about what befell him.
After a 3-1 win against current league leaders Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Nov. 9, "I felt like I had not a good feeling, an illness," he said. But now I have a "nice feeling and I am ready to play the first match."
In that first match in Qatar, he will face a German defense that some have labeled a liability, giving Mitoma a chance to make some strides.
"Germany is the best team in the world but they have a weakness so we have to be ready to play against them," he said. "If we play with togetherness we can win."
When pushed on what specifically he believes Germany's flaw is, Mitoma indicated Japan has been focusing on flying forward out of defense.
"They put many players in...the attacking space, they have a weakness against the counterattack, so yeah, we are preparing for this...But it is secret, of course," he said with a smile while being dragged away to his next interview.
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