Al Ain: Kashima Antlers coach Go Oiwa immediately set his sights on European giants Real Madrid after watching his side come from behind to beat Guadalajara 3-2 in their FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2018 quarter-final on Saturday.
The 2018 AFC Champions League winners scored three second-half goals to advance to Wednesday’s semi-final, where the reigning European champions await in Abu Dhabi.
It is a rematch of the 2016 FIFA Club World Cup final, which Real won 4-2. But Oiwa, who was Kashima assistant coach two years ago, is now focused on causing an upset this time around.
“In 2016 we made a great impact on a lot of people,” Oiwa said in his post-match press conference. “In that final against Real Madrid we really wanted to win and it was disappointing.
“But now, right here we have the opportunity to put that disappointment behind us. We will try to show what we didn’t manage to do against Guadalajara and play aggressive football and take the game to Real Madrid.”
The semi-finalists have been confirmed
Who do you think will win UAE 2018? ?#ClubWC ?? pic.twitter.com/dmb7LZT4qc— #ClubWC (@FIFAcom) December 15, 2018
Oiwa is still able to call on a number of players who played in the 2016 final and the 46-year-old believes that the memory of defeat could spur his side on to an unlikely victory.
“We have players who played in the last tournament so their experience is undoubtedly helping us and it gives peace of mind to the younger players,” the 2018 AFC Coach of the Year said.
“I must analyse Real Madrid fully before I decide on the team for the match on Wednesday. Madrid is Madrid but we will be solid and aggressive in our fighting spirit and the way we approach the game, then we will see.”
#ClubWC |
??@atlrs_english 3-2 @Chivas??A second-half comeback saw the Asian champions set up a reunion with @realmadriden in a repeat of the 2016 final ?? pic.twitter.com/CbscNj5S0U
— #ClubWC (@FIFAcom) December 15, 2018
Kashima found themselves 1-0 down after just three minutes against Guadalajara but fought back thanks to second-half goals from Ryota Nagaki, Serginho and Hiroki Abe.
Oiwa revealed that at half-time he told his players they had a duty to improve their performance for the Kashima supporters who had travelled to Al Ain.
“We conceded a goal at an early stage in the match and our positioning wasn’t good,” he said. “I felt we were playing too much of their game and allowing them to set the pace.
“At half time I told my players we had to change and take the game to Guadalajara and identified how we would do this.
“I also told the players that a lot of fans had made the trip from Japan to support us and they were making plenty of noise for us, so I said we had to show our fighting spirit and perform for our fans.”
While Kashima were celebrating victory, Guadalajara were left to ponder what might have been. The Mexicans’ coach Jose Carodzo bemoaned his side’s lack of focus but took responsibility for their failure to hold on to their lead.
“We had control of the game but then they scored and we lost our concentration which allowed Kashima to dominate,” Carodzo said.
“After the first half we talked about staying organised but then we lost our way. I am the only one to blame for this. The players gave everything but they lost a little mental strength, we lost our focus. It’s very painful because everybody worked hard to get here.”
Guadalajara now play Mexico's Esperance, who lost 3-0 to Al Ain in their quarter-final on Saturday, in the fifth-place playoff on Tuesday.
Photos: FIFA via Getty Images
Source: the-afc.com