u/Ok-Contribution315

France vs England already happened. France literally beat them. So how the hell does Isagi enter this match without knowing that England plays like this or that Knight is basically egoless?

At first I could here some people excuse Isagi not knowing Hugo or Bunny. But scouting the team you’re literally about to play is completely different. That’s basic preparation, especially when this match decides whether Japan survives the group stage.

And Isagi is supposed to be the guy who analyzes everything. When Teddy appeared, people defended Japan by saying Isagi would eventually observe and figure England out himself. Okay, but apparently Japan just doesn’t research anyone before kickoff 💀

England already played TWO matches before this. They just need to sit down, watch their games for an hour, and understand their basic system and the important players. Yet Isagi is standing there thinking, “How do I devour someone without an ego?” like he’s discovering England’s identity in real time.
Seriously, what the hell was this team doing between matches? And I’m so sick of these players clueless about opponent then figure it out in the real time. Try write sth like they know it but still cannot stop which make England is powerful but here some people will excuse England stronger because japan didnt research, fk bullshit not only weaken England narrative but also make japan team look stupid.

At this point, I can ignore Kaneshiro has no clue on football tactics. What I can’t ignore anymore is how little the Blue Lock players seem to know about their opponents. Earlier, Isagi didn’t even know who Bunny was, then japan team doesn’t know that France tactics.

But this panel was the last straw for me. Niko literally says, “He’s a dribbler?!” when Teddy is an NG11 player.
Seriously? You’re about to play the biggest match of the group stage against England, and somehow you don’t even know the basic profile of one of their star players? I can accept France being stronger than expected. I can even accept them hiding a few new weapons. But not knowing something as basic as Teddy being a dribbler just makes Japan look unbelievably unprepared. I don’t care which position he’s in because teddy definitely show that aspect into the matches because if not, how can he’s in NG11?

It honestly feels like this line exists only to explain Teddy’s playstyle to the readers. But we can clearly see it so I don’t know why author write that line because it’s not really make us understand, it just makes the players themselves look clueless and stupid. That’s what annoys me the most. They should know their opponents’ strengths before the whistle even blows.

Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of the Nigeria vs England result. I already expect England will dominate Nigeria but I expect the result is 4:1 instead of 5:1.

At this point, Japan basically has to beat England, which makes the outcome feel too predictable. Let’s be honest, there was never a realistic chance Japan was getting eliminated in the group stage. So whether it’s a win or a draw, Japan was probably advancing anyway. That’s why I was hoping for a draw.

A draw would make Japan’s path way more interesting. People would call them lucky, question whether they really deserved to advance, and look down on them heading into the knockout stage. That creates much better tension and gives Japan something to prove later.
A lot of people will say, “This match is important, so Japan has to win.” But there are still multiple knockout matches coming after this. Those games will be even more intense because there are no draws and every mistake can send you home so I would like to give this England game a tie.

A draw would also make Isagi’s last goal against Nigeria matter even more. If we’re using real tournament rules, goal difference and goals scored become important tiebreakers. Japan advancing because of that goal would give extra meaning to everything that happened earlier.
In the end, Japan is probably advancing either way. That’s exactly why I think a draw would’ve been the more interesting choice. It would’ve added uncertainty, given the team more pressure, and made the road to the title feel harder earned.

Not only that, a draw would’ve let us see Japan’s defense develop in a much more interesting way because if england and japan has a tie result, England would be the team forced to attack in the final match. That means Japan could focus more on defending, counterattacking, and adapting under pressure. We would’ve gotten a much clearer look at whether Japan actually learned from all the defensive mistakes against France. Right now, if Japan has to win, the match will naturally revolve more around offense. With England being desperate for a result instead, we could’ve seen completely different tactical situations and more growth from players like Aiku, Niko, Karasu, and the back line as a whole. It would’ve added more variety to the story while also making Japan’s defensive improvement feel earned rather than simply telling us they got better.

Instead, now it feels like we’re heading toward the most straightforward outcome possible: Japan beats England and moves on, which is another offense game.

I know Rin is only 16, but come on man 😭. This guy spends the whole match obsessed with Isagi, blocks one of the best chances Japan has had, contributes almost nothing offensively, and then walks into the locker room acting like everyone else lost their nerve when himself is the biggest reason why japan team lost.

“My drive to be number one hasn’t wavered.” Number 1 my ass. Bro, Isagi get marked by Hugo all game and he still try to surpass it, Karasu literally change the game and he’s the reason why japan team score 2 goals. Meanwhile, Rin is so dependent on isagi that ego even mention that and we knows what the result? Like first I read, I’m laughing at it but also dissatisfied rin’s character. He has the same bid as isagi but no one, NO ONE thought rin is a solution after isagi failed tell you a lot how bad Rin’s character is.

I actually laugh so hard when see this panel because how the hell this France team can only score 3 goals and two first goal are given by stupidity japan defenders.

And this is against a Japan team that still doesn’t even have Sae, Nagi, and both Isagi and Rin are clearly not playing at their best mentally right.

I don’t care if France is “not trying their hardest yet.” Even then, they should crush Japan completely and making them look hopeless. Instead, the match mostly feels like Japan making dumb mistakes rather than France looking overwhelmingly elite.

Anyone said this writing is peak is lying for themself because kaneshiro hype so much for this France team so everyone get blind and don’t want to admit it but this match has been really disappointing to me. The hype says France is a monster team, but the actual execution only makes Loki, Hugo, and Charles look relevant while everyone else are just the NPC.

“Strongest team in once of the generation”, more like the most disappointing team .

I know some people will disagree and bring up earlier goals from the first selections, but let’s be real, back then most of them were not defenders so I can overlook that. But now? With better players, better awareness, meta vision, and way more football knowledge? That defense is no excuse.

There is no reason Japan should leave Isagi alone to mark Hugo after we already saw Hugo cooking him in 1v1s. It even get worse than that after Hugo beats Isagi, nobody even covers the space behind him. The middle is completely open like they wanted him to shoot. France had at most around 6 players joining attack. Japan had basically 10 players back defending. So why is the central area this empty?

That’s what disappoints me most about this match. France being the strongest team narrative and even France coach said they are one of the 100 years generation. Instead, both goals mostly come from basic Japan mistakes. First goal: three defender players collapsing onto Loki and leaving gaps everywhere. Second goal: somehow even worse, goalkeeper cannot even stop this goal even though he saves lots of harder goal before. Anyone with basic football sense can see how poor the defending is.

I know Kaneshiro isn’t writing a tactical football manga, so I can ignore some strategy issues. But at least make the defending logical. Let defenders actually do their job. Right now France doesn’t feel like “the strongest generation team” because of elite play. It feels like they look strong because Japan keeps making dumb mistakes. Only Loki, Hugo, and Charles are really showing quality. Especially Loki right now is only show speed, which is exactly what isagi said.

I hate when one team is made to look strong only by making the other team look stupid. Good writing should make both teams look strong at the same time.