This is how to escalate the pressure within a team. As Japan prepares to host the World Cup as co-hosts, Yuta Watanabe is already thinking about the following: in the event of a poor performance at home, he could quite simply turn his back on the national team.
“ I played for the Japanese national team for almost 13 years. […] If I can’t qualify for the Olympics in Paris next year, I think this World Cup will be the last time I wear the national team shirt. », warns the Japanese, whose words are taken up by BasketNews.
The Suns player had already made a statement to this effect at the end of July: “ Nobody, neither the players nor the spectators, wants to see us lose. If we still chain defeats, I am ready to no longer wear the national jersey. That’s how involved I am in this World Cup. »
Deprived of his companion, NBAer also, Rui Hachimura, the former player of the Raptors or the Nets will therefore try to raise his team to the rank of best Asian nation in this competition. The competition will indeed award a total of seven Olympic tickets: 2 for the Americas; 2 for Europe; 1 for Africa; 1 for Asia and 1 for Oceania.
But getting the Asian ticket will be anything but easy for Japan, placed in a particularly complicated Group E with Germany, Australia and Finland. Knowing that there are only two qualified per pool…
