Japanese football legend talks about significance of AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024

Doha, Qatar: Ryuzo Morioka has represented Japanese football at all levels in an illustrious career that saw him lift the AFC Asian Cup in 2000 and ca...

Doha, Qatar: Ryuzo Morioka has represented Japanese football at all levels in an illustrious career that saw him lift the AFC Asian Cup in 2000 and captain the Samurai Blue during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. 

The prolific defender also played for his country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Morioka is currently in Qatar as part of the Japanese press corps covering the AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024, a tournament that he sees holding tremendous significance for football in Japan and throughout the continent.

“Tournaments like the under-23 Asian Cup in Qatar offer a great opportunity to players to connect to the outside world,” said Morioka. 

“It provides them with great motivation. It’s great for teams to win and gain confidence, but it’s equally valuable to lose matches that they expected to win. This provides them with a very valuable experience,” he added.

Morioka was part of a golden generation that saw Japan record its first ever win and qualify to the Round of 16 when they co-hosted the tournament alongside Korea Republic.