After Japan won their Group E opening fixture against the 2014 FIFA World Cup winners Germany on Wednesday, coach Hajime Moriyasu acknowledged the contribution of Germany to the development of Japanese football.

He was referring to the fact that many of Japan’s footballers play in the German top division, the Bundesliga, while many more are in Germany’s club academy system.

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Speaking at the press conference after the match, Moriyasu said that they are “grateful and respectful” to Germany for that.

“We are very grateful and respectful to that. Many German people have contributed & helped us in Japanese football. Today Japan won,” he said. “But Japan wants to continue learning from Germany and the world.”

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Moriyasu, however, is receiving a lot of praise for his tactical choices during the match. Many experts are claiming that it was his tactical shift from 4-2-3-1 to 3-4-3 that enabled Japan to pull off a shocking comeback against Germany.

In fact, two of Japan’s goalscorers, Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano came on as substitutes, thanks to his tactical choices.

 “We are reaching the global standard. We are showing our capability from Asian football,” Moriyasu continued. “When we conceded a goal, we continued. You have to be persistent, then you can go. We need to be tough until the very last minute and then we can grab this moment.”

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Japan played in an aggressive mid-block and had possession of only 26%. When asked how he managed to do it, Moriyasu said that he has watched a to of Juventus matches and learned the trade from there. 

“Winning with 26% possession? I’ve watched a lot of Juventus games in the last two years. They are masters at this,” he said.