Japan coach Moriyasu to step down from role after Paraguay friendly

File photo- Moriyasu, who took over as head coach after the 2018 World Cup, led Japan to shock wins over Germany and Spain at the 2022 World Cup before securing a round-of-32 finish in the latest edition. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu will step down next week, the country’s football association said Friday, cutting short his tenure in the wake of the 2027 Asian Cup’s postponement.

Moriyasu, Japan’s longest-serving coach, was originally set to lead the team at the Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia in January before handing the reins to current Under-23 boss Go Oiwa.

But the Asian Football Confederation announced last week that the tournament would be pushed back to December 2027 due to “exceptional circumstances” in the region, following Houthi attacks on the host country.

That left Moriyasu in limbo, with Japan Football Association (JFA) chiefs last week declining to clarify when the coaching handover would take place.

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The association said on Friday that Japan’s friendlies in Singapore against Brazil on Saturday and Paraguay on Tuesday would be Moriyasu’s last in charge.

The 58-year-old took over after the 2018 World Cup.

He led Japan to shock wins over Germany and Spain on the way to a last-16 defeat on penalties to Croatia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

He took them to the last 32 at this year’s World Cup in North America, where they lost 2-1 to Brazil after a last-minute goal.

Moriyasu was set to lead the team in an Asian Cup warm-up friendly against a yet-to-be-named opponent in Osaka on December 30.

The JFA said that the game had been cancelled.

“We had regarded this game as an important opportunity to strengthen the Japan team and we had been making thorough preparations,” JFA president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto said in a statement.

“But following the postponement of the Asian Cup and considering the national team’s schedule, we have decided to cancel the game.”