Japan's Kamada Scores Twice at World Cup, Eyes Crystal Palace Stay — "We Need to Level Up"

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Japan's national team fell to Brazil 1-2 in the Round of 16 at the North and Central America World Cup. The day after the defeat, all 26 members of the squad gave individual media interviews at their team base. MF Daichi Kamada had started all four of Japan's matches and scored in back-to-back games from the group stage opener — finishing the competition with two goals to his name. Reflecting on where Japan stands against the world's best, Kamada spoke candidly: the players had discussed among themselves that there is still an individual gap at the top level, and that they need to keep growing. He also noted that the team had gone into the tournament expecting to advance from the group stage as a baseline — a shift in mindset compared to the previous World Cup. Looking ahead, Kamada said his first choice is to stay at Crystal Palace and continue competing in the Premier League.

What Fans Are Saying

• "Two goals at a World Cup is something to be proud of. Kamada really showed up when it mattered."
• "Losing to Brazil hurts, but this squad had a different level of expectation than four years ago."
• "Hope he stays at Crystal Palace. Watching him in the Premier League every week is something I want to keep seeing."

Original Japanese

• 「W杯で2得点はしっかり結果を残した。クラブでの成長がそのまま出た感じがする」
• 「ブラジル相手に惜しかった。でも鎌田のコメントが正直で好き、言い訳しないのがいい」
• 「プレミアで続けてほしい。クリスタルパレスでのプレーがまた楽しみ」

Easy Japanese

サッカーの鎌田大地は、W杯で2ゴールを決めました。日本はブラジルに負けて、大会が終わりました。鎌田は「もっとうまくならないといけない」と言いました。