Japanese team goalkeeper Zion Suzuki admitted that he was still impressed by the second goal he had to concede (scored by midfielder Pham Tuan Hai) in the match against the Vietnamese team at the 2023 Asian Cup.
Striker Pham Tuan Hai (far right) scores against Japan at the 2023 Asian Cup. Photo: Quynh Anh
Recently, goalkeeper Zion Suzuki of the Japanese team had an interview in Number Bunshun. This is the goalkeeper who was given the opportunity by coach Moriyasu to start all 5 matches of the land of the rising sun team at the 2023 Asian Cup.
Throughout the tournament, the goalkeeper born in 2002 had to go into the net to pick up the ball 8 times, of which 2 goals came from goals from striker Dinh Bac and midfielder Pham Tuan Hai in the opening match between Japan and Japan. Vietnam national team on January 14.
Zion Suzuki shared that after the 2023 Asian Cup, this goalkeeper sat down to review his own performance. The 22-year-old goalkeeper said that the second goal he conceded in the match against the Vietnamese team became an obsession.
“I feel haunted and unforgettable by the mistakes I made in the match against Vietnam. I had to analyze the situation that led to the goal and spent a lot of time reviewing them over and over again.
I judged that the opponent would make a cross, so I decided to go out and punch the ball. However, I stepped up too high. That’s a mistake. Seeing that, I quickly adjusted my position and shifted my focus when the opponent took the first shot.
But the second mistake came when I tried to catch the ball under pressure from the opposing players but used the wrong technique. As a result, the opposing striker (Tuan Hai) was too fast and scored successfully,” said Zion Suzuki.
Goalkeeper Zion Suzuki in the match between Japan and Vietnam at the 2023 Asian Cup. Photo: JFA
The Japanese goalkeeper affirmed that even though it was just a small mistake, this caused him to concede the second goal, which was when the team from the land of the rising sun was led 2-1 by Vietnam.
He affirmed that the pressure on himself after that goal was huge, but luckily the Japanese team won 4-2 in the end.
In the upcoming 2026 World Cup second qualifying round, the Japanese team will have 2 matches with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, while the Vietnamese team will face the Indonesian team.
As for Tuan Hai, this striker has only scored 3 goals for Hanoi FC since the beginning of V.League 2023-2024.
With the current performance of Tuan Hai and other national players, coach Philippe Troussier will make careful calculations when choosing personnel to prepare for the Vietnamese team in the upcoming two important matches.
