Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu is showing patience with an AFC Asian Cup 2019 campaign that is yet to truly catch fire.
The Blue Samurai made it four wins out of four in the United Arab Emirates as they edged past Saudi Arabia 1-0 to book a quarterfinal against surprise package Vietnam.
Indeed, all of Japan's victories have come by a single-goal margin but Moriyasu insists his team are a work in progress.
"Japan is here and we aim to win the title, but the team needs to be developed because we have some new players who are lacking experience," he told reporters ahead of a game where he will be without Newcastle United forward Yoshinori Muto through suspension.
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"We are playing each match and learning from them. We know [Vietnam] will be a difficult match but we'll do our best and bring the confidence of having won our four matches," he added.
Vietnam defender Luong Xuan Truong is eyeing another upset after Park Hang-seo's side overcame Jordan on penalties in the last 16.
"We are very happy right now because we made another piece of history for Vietnamese football," he told AFC.com . "[The game against Jordan] was amazing.
"I hope we can keep playing in the same way against the next opponent and hope we can make more history for Vietnam."
Vietnam has won its three most recent shoot-outs, with Xuan Truong on target in each.
"I think we can't say anything about a penalty shoot-out because we never know before a game, what's going to happen," he added
"We were luckier than Jordan, and I think that's all it is."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Dang Van Lam (Vietnam)
If this one also goes to the wire, Vietnam will look to Van Lam to be their hero once more after his brilliant save from Ahmed Saleh to break Jordanian hearts.
Yuya Osako (Japan)
The Werder Bremen forward opened the tournament with a brace against Turkmenistan. He has not featured since due to muscular problems but Muto's absence could pave the way for a return.
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