Read for 2 minutesJune 24, 2026 07:57 PM IST
One of them gave a speech last week when 145 students and parents from East Tennessee Japanese School visited the World Cup training base in Nashville, Japan. Rui Nishizawa, 14, rewrote the manuscript several times and practiced reading it aloud. He also wrote a reminder to himself in the text: “Wait a minute.”
Standing in front of the Samurai Blue players and coaching staff, he said, according to GG Press: “When we face obstacles while studying and living away from our country, the way you compete gives us the courage to never give up, no matter what.”
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu asked the staff to get a copy of the speech to display in the team’s dining hall. Reflecting on the moment afterward, he said he “almost cried” when he realized his team’s efforts were encouraging children living far from Japan.
For Japanese children growing up abroad, the national football team carries more weight than results. “It means a lot to those of us who live abroad far from home to see you bravely face the world’s top players with everything you’ve got,” Nishizawa told the players.
Japan arrive in camp ready for their second Group F match against Tunisia, who came from behind twice after drawing 2-2 with the Netherlands. They wanted results. They got one – a 4-0 win for Monterrey, the first Asian team to score four goals in a World Cup match.
Nishizawa, asked about the latter moment, smiled shyly. “I gave 120% with my voice,” he said. “My throat is completely dry.”
Moriasu has expressed his desire throughout this campaign for his players to reach the “best stage” – reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup, a place Japan have never done before. Nishizawa invited that ambition directly into those closest to him.
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“We want to see the best view that coach Moriyasu talks about,” he said.
The Japan Football Association has built the campaign around the slogan “For Our Greatest Stage”. On Saturday in Monterey, a 14-year-old from Tennessee may have helped them get one step closer.