Japan must focus on positives ahead of World Cup qualifiers, Endo says

Japan captain Maya Endo says her team must focus on the positives ahead of their upcoming World Cup qualifiers, despite a disappointing performance at the SheBelieves Cup.

The Nadeshiko were well beaten by the United States, England, and Spain in the tournament, and Endo admits that the results were "not what we wanted."

However, she believes that Japan can still qualify for the World Cup if they can learn from their mistakes and focus on their strengths.

Endo: We need to be more clinical in front of goal

One of the main areas that Japan need to improve on is their finishing. The Nadeshiko had plenty of chances to score in the SheBelieves Cup, but they were unable to take them.

Endo says that the team needs to be more "clinical" in front of goal, and she believes that they can do that by working on their attacking patterns in training.

“We need to be more aggressive in the attacking third and create more chances,” Endo said. “We also need to be more clinical in front of goal. We had a lot of chances in the SheBelieves Cup, but we didn't take them.”

Endo: We need to be more competitive

Another area that Japan need to improve on is their competitiveness. The Nadeshiko were outplayed by their opponents in the SheBelieves Cup, and Endo admits that they need to be more "competitive" if they want to qualify for the World Cup.

Endo says that the team needs to be more "physical" and "mentally tough" in order to compete with the best teams in the world.

"We need to be more competitive," Endo said. "We need to be more physical and mentally tough. We need to be able to compete with the best teams in the world, and we need to be able to win games when we're not at our best."

Endo: We have the quality to qualify for the World Cup

Despite the disappointing results in the SheBelieves Cup, Endo remains confident that Japan can qualify for the World Cup.

She says that the team has the "quality" and the "experience" to get the job done, and she believes that they can still achieve their goal of reaching the World Cup.

"We have the quality to qualify for the World Cup," Endo said. "We have a lot of experienced players, and we have a lot of young players who are coming through. We just need to work hard and focus on our strengths, and I believe that we can achieve our goal."