National team manager Akira Nishino predicted Thursday that Japan will improve on its 2018 World Cup performance by reaching the quarterfinals in 2022, but he will not be around to lead the charge after the Japan Football Association announced it would not extend his contract past the end of this month.
"It's disappointing to be coming home while the World Cup is still going on," Nishino said at a news conference at a hotel near Narita airport, where the team returned from Russia on Thursday following its heartbreaking elimination by Belgium in the round of 16 on Monday.
"Four years from now we want to reach the quarterfinals. I feel the players will be able to achieve that after what we have accomplished with this result. I want people to believe that the players can do it."