Registered Members
Week 1
*1 Nishida Yuji 2000 187 OP JTEKT
*2 Futoshi Onodera 1996 200 MB JT
*5 Tatsunori Otsuka 2000 194 OH Waseda University 4th year student
*6 Akihiro Yamauchi 1993 204 MB Panasonic
*8 Masahiro Sekita 1993 175 S JTEKT
10 Kentaro Takahashi 1995 202 MB Toray
11 Masama Tomita 1997 190 OH Toray
12 Ai Takahashi 2001 188 OH 3rd year student at Nippon Sport Science University
13 Tomohiro Ogawa 1996 176 L WD Nagoya
14 Yuki Ishikawa 1995 191 OH Milano (ITA) (C)
16 Kento Miyaura 1999 190 OP JTEKT
20 Tomohiro Yamamoto 1994 171 L Sakai
21 Eiro Genki 1996 192 S WD Nagoya
26 Go Murayama 1998 192 MB JTEKT
Director: Philippe Brun (France)
The Japanese national team is made up mainly of players who made it to the top eight at last year's Tokyo Olympics.
Yuki Ishikawa continues to be the captain from last year. It seems that he has already established himself as the national team captain.
25-man wide rosterSo, a wide range of people were selected, from veterans to university students for the first time in a while, but when it comes to the members who will actually compete in the tournament, it will probably be as described above.
Personally, I'd love to see Kai (first year at Senshu University), who had a spectacular performance at this year's Spring High Volleyball Tournament, on the international stage soon, but I wonder if he'll have a chance...?
Among the 14 members, Tomita, Nagatsuyu, and Murayama were selected for the first time. In particular, setter Nagatsuyu is 192cm tall, which is large for a Japanese setter, and I think he is the first Japanese men's representative setter to be over 190cm tall since Abe Yuta, so I personally hope he will do his best.
However, on a global scale, a 192cm setter is considered small to medium-sized (laughs).
Nishida, who only participated in the final stages of the tournament last year due to injury, is expected to perform well from the beginning this year. It will be great to see the left and right twin shots of Ishikawa and Nishida, who were not seen at the Asian Games after the Tokyo Olympics!
Projected starting lineup
S Sekita, OH Ishikawa, MB Takahashi (Ken), OP Nishida, OH Takahashi (Ai), MB Yamauchi, L Yamamoto
Average height (excluding libero): 191.2cm
The basic structure is the same as it was during the Tokyo Olympics, but the middle is now Takahashi Kentaro instead of Onodera.
Although it was just a practice match, this team won against Brazil 3-0 on the first day, and although they lost on the second day, they were just one step away from winning 2-3. Most of the Brazilian team members on the second day were starters, so the fact that they were able to fight this far against such a Brazilian team shows that they are definitely getting stronger.
I especially got the impression that their defense and organized play had been further refined.
In this tournament, points are awarded for each game and are reflected in the world rankings, so it may be difficult to actively try out new players, but personally I would like to see a variety of players, not just those in the starting lineup above!
Featured Players
MB Kentaro Takahashi
Of course, I'm also paying attention to Ishikawa, Nishida, and Takahashi Ai, but in this particular tournament, I'd like to keep an eye on Takahashi Kentaro.
Although he had the disappointing experience of not being selected for the Tokyo Olympics team, he showed great performance in the V-League afterwards, winning the Block Award and being named to the Best 6. He was originally known for his offensive power, but now his blocking has been polished.
I think that the Japanese national team has a difference in ability, especially in the middle blockers, compared to the rest of the world. Kentaro Takahashi was originally blessed with a good physique and high physical ability, and had the potential to be on a par with foreign players, but he was unable to fully demonstrate his abilities for many years due to mental weaknesses and injuries.
However, I feel like he will be able to do something this year, and in fact he was in the starting lineup on both days of the training match against Brazil.
With these expectations in mind, we will be keeping our eyes on Takahashi Kentaro in this tournament!
*On June 8th, Kentaro Takahashi tested positive for COVID-19 and will be unable to participate in the first week of the Nations League. It's a shame as I really wanted to see him perform on the court, but I hope he'll be able to make a comeback from the second week onwards!!!
Match Schedule
*All match times are in Japan time
Week 1 (Brasilia, Brazil)
June 9th (Thu) 6:00 vs Netherlands ○3-1
6/10 (Fri) 3:00 vs China ○3-1
6/11 (Sat) 6:00 vs USA ●2-3
June 13th (Mon) 1:00 vs Iran ○3-0
Week 2 (Quezon City, Philippines)
June 21st (Tue) 20:00 vs Argentina
6/24(Fri) 20:00 vs Italy
June 25th (Sat) 16:00 vs France
6/26(Sun) 16:00 vs Slovenia
Week 3 (Osaka)
7/6(Wed) 19:10 vs Australia
7/8(Fri) 19:10 vs Canada
7/9 (Sat) 19:10 vs Germany
7/10(Sun) 19:10 vs Brazil
Final Round (Bologna, Italy)
Local time: July 20th (Wed) to 24th (Sun)
A tournament format with the top eight qualifying teams
Click here to find out how to watch the Nations League online:
Now I'm looking forward to it!!!
Photo: Volleyball World, FIVB
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