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Samurai time as Japan enter the 'death zone' against Argentina / Photo: Lionel BONAVENTURE - AFP/File
Samurai time as Japan enter the 'death zone' against Argentina
Japan are ready to summon their inner samurai as they enter the "death zone" when taking on Argentina in what is a winner-takes-all match to qualify as World Cup Pool D runners-up.
England are confirmed as pool winners, meaning a straight shoot-off in Nantes on Sunday between Japan and Los Pumas for second place and a spot in the quarter-finals, both teams having lost to the English.
"We are in the tournament, so whether it's by a point, a win is a win. We’ve been building the team towards this," said team director Yuichiro Fuji.
"This is going to be one of the biggest games since Jamie's (Joseph) been coaching the team. If we lose, it's the end of us, so that means we're going into the death zone.
"The players have also been saying how this is going to be a do-or-die battle, so I'm sure everyone’s ready. The team's also in its best shape, so if we can get all the players to perform at their best, Argentina are not a team we cannot beat."
Fuji said players had been embracing the way of the warrior in discussing game plans at team presentations in the place of coaches.
"It was (Keita) Inagaki this week, and he talked about how it’s going to be the 'Samurai Time', where once we pull the sword out, it's going to be do or die, and how we have to drop our katana (sword) on them to defeat them," Fuji said.
"Those words about mentality are more important than the game plans at this point."
K.Koch--BlnAP
