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Team Japan is the king of innovation
The coach of the Japanese national team, Hajime Moriyasu, stood out during the match against the Netherlandsin the early hours of today, Monday, which ended in a 2-2 draw in the first round of the 2026 World Cup Group Six competition.
Moriyasu appeared holding a whiteboard with large numbers in a scene that sparked interest from fans and the media about the messages he wanted to convey to his players during the match.
The Japanese coach appeared to have resorted to an innovative method to overcome the difficulty of communicating tactical instructions in the atmosphere of noisy games, as he raised more than one number at different periods of the match, suggesting the existence of a pre-agreed coded system between the coaching staff and the players.
It seems that each number can be linked to a specific plan or tactical move, such as changing pressing style, adjusting a defensive position or switching to a different mode of play, allowing instructions to be followed quickly without having to stop the game or rely on traditional messages.
During the match, the board appeared with different numbers more than once, which reinforced the hypothesis of the existence of a “tactical dictionary” for the Japanese team, allowing the players to understand what was required immediately by seeing the number announced from the technical area.
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The method has been widely shared on social media, particularly as it reflects a growing trend of innovation in the modern training world and could open the door for other teams and clubs to adopt similar methods of delivering instructions on the pitch.
