DUSHANBE, 24.09.2018 /NIAT “Khovar”/. Head coach of the national junior football team of Tajikistan (U-16) Zainiddin Rahimov, commenting on the draw of the match of the second round of the group stage of the 2018 Asian Championship against Japan (0:0), said that now all the team’s thoughts on the match with Thailand.

Zainiddin Rahimov, Tajikistan head coach:

— After our first match against Malaysia, we made some changes to our tactics and focused on defence. We analysed Japan’s previous match and this was the result. Yes of course (I am proud), to get a draw against a team like Japan is an achievement. We felt the presence of our fans today and we want to thank them for their support.

For our match against Thailand, we still have a chance (to progress to the knockout stage), so we will try our best against them.

Yoshiro Moriyama, Japan head coach:

— Looking back at the game, they (Tajikistan) played defensively and we struggled to penetrate through. In the second half we switched things up in our formation and used more space on the side of the field. We got a little bit closer but still struggled to penetrate.

The main reason I switched seven players in this game was because I want to give the players the opportunity to play in this tournament. To top the group, we must win our match against Malaysia, and they are also in the same position.