J.League International Series 2024 powered by docomo Post-match comments against Newcastle United

"I am very pleased to be able to welcome Newcastle to our home ground today. I am satisfied with our offensive performance in the first half. We were able to create chances by making good connections from the build-up. The score was 1-2 at halftime, but it would not have been strange if the score had been 2-1. Also, for the first time this season, almost all of our players were able to play, which made me happy. Although it was a short time, almost all of our players were able to play.

And I think we saw today a benchmark for what quality means in the final seconds. If we make a mistake or don't press enough, we will be exploited and we will pay the price. As for the quality of our shots, we need to improve the quality of our attacks in the final third, as we created plenty of chances but couldn't score.

I have told the players that I want to play as many international matches as possible before next year's Club World Cup. I would like to thank Newcastle for coming all the way to Japan today."

[Question-and-answer session]
(What issues did you want to tackle as a team before playing against Newcastle?)
"First of all, I talked about showing our identity in attack. I also challenged the players to show their defensive quality, including blocking shots.

By playing against a team of this level, I think we were able to see what we did well and what we need to improve. It was a game that gave us a lot of answers. There are 14 games left in the league, but I'm glad we were able to play a game like this one week before the restart.

(Today was Hiroki Abe 's first game since joining the Reds. Will this be a stepping stone or a catalyst for him?)
"I hope that will be the case. I am very happy that he was able to play. He seems to be in good condition, so I will continue to work hard in daily practice."

[Urawa Reds Official Media (URD:OM)]