[Japan National Football Team/News]Juranovic, the Croatia national side back, spoke before the Qatar World Cup 2022 Round of 16 Japan vs Croatia. Since he is a member of Celtic, he seems to have some thoughts about the match against Daito Maeda.
Croatia defender Josip Juranovic says he is looking forward to seeing his colleague Daito Maeda again ahead of the match against Japan.
Defending champions Croatia finished second in Group F. They will face Japan, who finished first in Group E, in the first round of the final tournament. Yuranovic is also a member of Celtic, and has deep friendships with Japanese players.
In this World Cup, only Daizen Maeda from Celtic participated, but Juranovic wrote a congratulatory heart mark on Maeda’s Instagram after the match with Spain, and Maeda replied, “See You Soon.”
The two have built a good relationship, and it is also known as a relationship where Maeda’s colleague Yuranovic also performs the Anpanman pose of the goal celebration that Maeda shows after the goal.
Juranovic attended an official press conference with Lovro Mayer ahead of the match against Japan and showed his enthusiasm for the match.
“I watched the match between Spain and Japan on video. I played with Maeda at Celtic, so I was looking forward to meeting him on the big stage.”
“Maeda is a team player, he does his best from start to finish, and he is very fast, aggressive and rushes into space.”
“Tomorrow the team will do a thorough analysis, but we have to focus on what we have to do. Against Spain, Japan barely had possession of the ball. But what is ball possession in modern football? Japan has shown that there is no meaning in
Juranovic said of competing in the World Cup: “It’s a stage I’ve dreamed of since I was a boy. To be honest, I didn’t think it would come true. I want to thank God for this opportunity. I’m in good shape. We will do whatever the coach asks us to do. We simply want to make our dreams come true.”
Juranovic is Croatia’s right-back, and is expected to match up directly with Japan national team forward Daito Maeda. Who will the goddess of victory smile upon? The match between Japan and Croatia will kick off at 24:00 Japan time on the 5th.