In the afternoon, an official press conference was held at Kashima Stadium, attended by Manager Ishii and player Doi.
Manager Masatada Ishii: "The previous match against Muangthong had too many mistakes on our part, and I strongly feel like we lost points. The Brisbane match is at home, so we definitely want to get all three points. So far, my player selection hasn't thrown our plans off significantly. Players in each position understand their roles. Even when players were unable to play due to injury or poor condition, the players who stepped in did well. Lately, although we've created many chances, we haven't been able to score multiple goals. How do we connect chances to goals? I think we need to increase our combination practice and train to score more goals." Shoma Doi: "Western Sydney, who we played in the previous ACL, had good physique, and they broke us down with dribbling and combinations in front of goal, but Brisbane, rather than using their height, seemed to have a strong intention to connect short passes. Even though they are an Australian team, we have to approach them recognizing them as a different kind of team. We've had a series of matches where we couldn't score despite having clear chances in the first half, so I think the first goal is crucial. Since playing against an Australian team in the previous ACL, I've had various experiences. I got injured, and I also won a major tournament. My growth so far has been mental. I've become more stable. That is reflected in my game. In matches, I think it's important to take action ourselves rather than waiting to see what the opponent does." Attendees from Brisbane Roar FC were Manager John Aloisi and player Jade North, who has experience playing for FC Tokyo and Sapporo.
Manager John Aloisi: "I'm excited to be able to play at Kashima. It will be a tough match. We've had a rest and prepared well to come to Japan. I'm very excited. Our style is based on possession. We have a good organization and individuals who can break through defenses. It will be a difficult match, but we are ready. As for Antlers, I watched all of their Club World Cup matches. I also watched and analyzed their two ACL matches and three J-League matches. There's no doubt they are a good team. I can't say much about the game plan, but it would be good if we can play organized defense. We won't just sit back and wait to win. We have players who can express offensive football, so it would be good if we can express our own football. In the previous match against Ulsan, we didn't have time to recover, and we had injured players. This time, we had sufficient preparation time. It's important to play offensive football." Jade North: "I'm looking forward to the match. I've played against Antlers before when I was in the J-League, so I know they are a good team. I respect them, but we came to Japan to win. I don't get the impression that Antlers has changed much from five years ago. There were no easy matches in the J-League, and I think it's the best league in Asia. Among them, Antlers has the impression of being a top team, so I'm looking forward to playing them. I'm proud to represent Australia in the ACL tournament." Brisbane Roar FC held an official practice at Kashima Stadium after the official press conference.
