NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Japan stalwart Yuto Nagatomo believes his team's mental strength will be tested like never before when they face Brazil in the round of 32 at the World Cup on Monday.
The former Inter Milan fullback gave his views on the fascinating encounter in Houston as the team departed their base camp near Nashville, Tennessee, which he called "the most comfortable" he has had in his five World Cups.
"If we're talking about these past 10, 20 years, I think Japan have upped their level more than Brazil have," Nagatomo said. "It's not whether Brazil have upped theirs or not, I simply believe that our margin of improvement is bigger. I've felt we're closing the gap on them."
The 39-year-old has played for three of the four Japan teams that reached the last 16 of the World Cup. While losing on all occasions, on penalties to Paraguay (2010) and Croatia (2022) as well as in a late debacle to Belgium (2018), the heartbreaks have stood the veteran in good stead.
"We just relied on our momentum against Belgium," he said of the game in which Japan scored twice before conceding three goals. "Even when we were 2-0 up, we kept going forward and no one was trying to see the game out. There wasn't anyone speaking out either."
"In that sense, you need smartness and calmness and guile as well I suppose to go deep in tournaments. You need to know how you want to the game to play out, whether to finish it in 90 minutes or go to extra time and penalties. Having that uniform idea within the team is extremely important."
Nagatomo, meanwhile, urged his teammates not to give "excessive respect" to Brazil, while singling out the South Americans' returning star Neymar as a player to watch out for.
Drawing a comparison with the impact of Lionel Messi on Argentina, he said Brazil "could really become a handful should they start playing for Neymar, as that could bring out something on top of their usual abilities and unity," Nagatomo said.
"We have to go above that, and we do have our own team unity that exceeds theirs...We don't know whether he is starting or coming off the bench, but he has real quality, one through-ball that can change the game."
While Nagatomo has appeared in five straight World Cups, a national record, and marked his 146th match for Japan in the final group match against Sweden, he is not concerned about the numbers.
"Records are there to be broken by our future compatriots, and I want to have my focus to be more on being remembered," the Ehime Prefecture native said.
"I'll be aiming to get the fact that Nagatomo was in this Japan team, (potentially) the title-winning team, etched in everyone's heart. We aren't a team to go out in the last 32. That cannot happen."
Should the result go their way, it would be a monumental day in Japan's sporting history.
"We'll make it a day that Japanese football, and the Japanese people, will never forget," Nagatomo said. "That is what it means to beat a serious team like Brazil."
