NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Japan trained for the first time at their World Cup base in Nashville, Tennessee, after arriving Monday from a pre-tournament camp in Mexico.
After acclimatizing to the heat in Monterrey from June 2, Hajime Moriyasu's 26-man squad traveled across the border and held a light session at Geodis Park in front of some 5,000 eager Samurai Blue fans who flocked to the home of MLS club Nashville.
"Thank you for the warm welcome here in Nashville today. We're so happy to start our World Cup journey in this amazing city," Japan captain Wataru Endo said during a welcome ceremony.
Making their eighth straight World Cup appearance, the Samurai Blue are aiming to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament for the first time and will play their opening Group F game on Sunday against the Netherlands at Dallas Stadium.
"We'll do our best with pride and passion to achieve something we've never seen before in Japan's soccer history," the Liverpool midfielder said. "We're really looking forward to staying here in Nashville and enjoying the time with you during the World Cup."
Injured Monaco attacker Takumi Minamino joined the squad as a mentor, becoming the second active senior player to accompany them during the tournament after former Japan captain Maya Yoshida, who is assisting as a support player.
One of the biggest positives for Japan in the buildup to the tournament has been Takehiro Tomiyasu, who shone against Iceland in Tokyo in their May 31 send-off match and has voiced confidence about his fitness following recent injury woes.
"We've had a nice reception here and seeing so many fans supporting us, I want to repay their expectations," the defender said. "I wanted to play a bit more for Ajax before coming to the World Cup, but even after taking that into account, I think my condition is better than everyone thinks."
"(The camp in Monterrey) would have been even better if it got hotter, but we had an intense camp also in terms of tactics and it'd be great if we can all sharpen ourselves up more having arrived at Nashville."
Japan will return to Monterrey ahead of playing their second game against Tunisia there on June 20 before facing Sweden back at Dallas Stadium five days later. They will stay in Nashville between matches.
