Hajime Moriyasu expected to stay on as Japan men's national team coach after World Cup exit

TOKYO (AP) — Hajime Moriyasu is expected to continue as head coach of Japan’s men’s team, with the national soccer federation set to announce a move later on Thursday, according to reports in the domestic media.

Moriyasu guided the team to the round of 32 at the World Cup before falling 2-1 earlier in the week to five-time champion Brazil.

Japan has consistently progressed on the world stage in the last two decades but has yet to win a match in the knockout stages at the World Cup.

Moriyasu took over the national team after the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He guided Japan to the knockout stage in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, losing to Croatia on penalties.

Kyodo, the national news agency, reports that the Japan Football Association wants Moriyasu to remain on the job.

“We would have to make preparations to that end,” JFA president Tsuneyasu Miyamoto was quoted as saying by Kyodo.

Some reports suggest he will get a one-year extension in order to stay for the upcoming Asian Cup to be held early next year in Saudi Arabia. Qatar is the defending champion and Japan will be among the favorites to win Asia’s top soccer prize.

Twenty-four teams have already qualified for the event. Japan will play in Group F with Indonesia, Qatar and Thailand.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here