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Subject: NT matches: Friendlies
For the past five weeks, Nippon went undefeated which allowed the team to climb up to the 61st place in the world rankings meaning most likely the NT will clinch a spot in the 4th pot for the next World Cup Qualifying phase.
I'd like to highlight the win over Österreich, even though we were a bit lucky, we managed to capitalize on our chances there. It wasn't their strongest team, but several of their players played in the World Cup so it wasn't a weak line-up either. Anyway, I'm proud of that win.
After that we played a deserved draw with Russia, the two teams were evenly matched; and easily defeated the Philippines with our reserves even though I had to substitute in a few major players to increase the score. Our U25 also performed well against Uzbegistan.
Then Nippon played against the Dominican Republic whose NT-coach is a good friend and a rival of mine in my home country. They were slightly stronger in the attacking department and my tactics are usually not working well against Red_Pirate's tactics which was the case here as well. The team managed to pull off a draw though, so I'm pleased with this result too.
And finally yesterday we had a match against Belarus. As I suspected, their NT-coach screwed me over since they were supposed to play with their U25. At least they didn't field their best team but their reserves instead. In the end, we got defeated 3-0 and Sahara got injured too so the outcome was not even close to positive. Since Nippon was missing its best midfielders due to low form, injury and suspension, the loss is not too surprising though.
Three weeks left in the season, the NT has a rather tough schedule but I want to get at least two wins out of these three matches and end the season on a high note.
I'd like to highlight the win over Österreich, even though we were a bit lucky, we managed to capitalize on our chances there. It wasn't their strongest team, but several of their players played in the World Cup so it wasn't a weak line-up either. Anyway, I'm proud of that win.
After that we played a deserved draw with Russia, the two teams were evenly matched; and easily defeated the Philippines with our reserves even though I had to substitute in a few major players to increase the score. Our U25 also performed well against Uzbegistan.
Then Nippon played against the Dominican Republic whose NT-coach is a good friend and a rival of mine in my home country. They were slightly stronger in the attacking department and my tactics are usually not working well against Red_Pirate's tactics which was the case here as well. The team managed to pull off a draw though, so I'm pleased with this result too.
And finally yesterday we had a match against Belarus. As I suspected, their NT-coach screwed me over since they were supposed to play with their U25. At least they didn't field their best team but their reserves instead. In the end, we got defeated 3-0 and Sahara got injured too so the outcome was not even close to positive. Since Nippon was missing its best midfielders due to low form, injury and suspension, the loss is not too surprising though.
Three weeks left in the season, the NT has a rather tough schedule but I want to get at least two wins out of these three matches and end the season on a high note.
First of all, thanks for re-electing me, hopefully the World Cup-campaign will be successful. I've got an update on Funaki finally, so the season is starting quite well :) Apart from the qualifying matches, the NT will have a handful of friendlies, the schedule will be the following:
week 04 - Letzebuerg
week 08 - O`zbekiston
week 12 - South Africa
week 15 - Latvija
week 00 - India
week 01 - Paraguay
I managed to arrange a nice mix of matches. South Africa and Latvija are going to be really tough opponents, a nice challenge. India and Paraguay represent similar strength as Nippon, while I expect slightly easier matches against Luxemburg and Uzbegistan, I'm planning to use younger players or reserves on these occasions.
week 04 - Letzebuerg
week 08 - O`zbekiston
week 12 - South Africa
week 15 - Latvija
week 00 - India
week 01 - Paraguay
I managed to arrange a nice mix of matches. South Africa and Latvija are going to be really tough opponents, a nice challenge. India and Paraguay represent similar strength as Nippon, while I expect slightly easier matches against Luxemburg and Uzbegistan, I'm planning to use younger players or reserves on these occasions.
The last match of the season has been played, Nippon won 4-2 against Paraguay, causing a slight upset.
To sum it up, I'm quite pleased with this season. Out of 16 matches, we have a 9-2-5 record, 3 wins (Latvija, India and Paraguay) and the 2 draws (Portugal and Peru) were achieved against better NTs. It's been a long time since the Nippon NT had such a successful season and knowing the squad, I don't think it could have been better than this.
Even if you don't re-elect me, I'm proud of the work I've done and I wish a successful season to my successor. Though I still hope that I'll manage to get a vote on the last day somehow :)
To sum it up, I'm quite pleased with this season. Out of 16 matches, we have a 9-2-5 record, 3 wins (Latvija, India and Paraguay) and the 2 draws (Portugal and Peru) were achieved against better NTs. It's been a long time since the Nippon NT had such a successful season and knowing the squad, I don't think it could have been better than this.
Even if you don't re-elect me, I'm proud of the work I've done and I wish a successful season to my successor. Though I still hope that I'll manage to get a vote on the last day somehow :)