TOKYO - Soon-to-be Japan manager Go Oiwa acknowledged the size of the job Friday but said his immediate focus remains on leading the under-21 team at the Asian Games, which Japan will host later this year.
Oiwa last week was named the next Samurai Blue manager to succeed Hajime Moriyasu after the Asian Cup, starting in January in Saudi Arabia, and will thereafter double as the manager for both the senior side and his current U-21 team, aiming for the 2028 Olympics.
"I acknowledge it's a job which comes with really heavy responsibility. I will be giving my all," Oiwa told a press conference regarding his upcoming post with the senior national team.
While men's football at the Asian Games is competed by U-23s with overage players permitted, Oiwa's U-21 side will represent Japan at the tournament starting in September in Aichi Prefecture.
AZ Alkmaar defender Rion Ichihara and Eintracht Frankfurt fullback Keita Kosugi were named among the 23-man squad for the Asian Games by Oiwa.
"I'd love to win it as we play at home. That's the only thing in my mind," the 54-year-old said. "We're preparing to make sure we can win if we perform our offensive and defensive tasks properly."
Oiwa led Japan to back-to-back U-23 Asian Cup titles in 2024 and 2026. The next edition of that tournament in 2028, which will serve as the final qualifiers for the Los Angeles Games, will be hosted in Japan.
