Jike: I believe Japan will win the World Cup one day

July 28th, can the Japanese team win the World Cup? Jiko, a 72-year-old Brazilian football legend and once coached the Japanese national team, gave his own opinion.

"It took 25 years for Brazilian football to start professionalizing to win the World Cup for the first time. I hope people can understand this."

Jico further said: "Japan faced strong opponents like Spain, Germany and Costa Rica in the last World Cup, but still qualified as the first in the group. In recent years, Japan has successfully passed the World Cup qualifiers every time. I believe that Japan will become the World Cup champion one day."

"The reason why Brazil was able to give birth to talented players like Pele and Galincha is because we have unique advantages. I also look forward to and pray that Japan will have players like them one day."

J League was founded in 1993, marking the official entry of Japanese football into professionalization. More than 30 years have passed since now. In the 2026 World Cup, let us wait and see whether Mori Boichi can realize his dream of breaking through the top 16 in Japan.