Japan against Japan. The almanac states its case, the crowd votes, you decide.
Japan · 1960s · SS
Two first-half goals at the Azteca on 23 October 1968 beat hosts Mexico 2-0 for the Olympic bronze, and they took Kamamoto to seven for the tournament, the top scorer at the Games. That 1968 bronze was Asia's first football medal, and it sits with 75 goals in 76 internationals, still the Japan record, four Japan Soccer League titles and three Emperor's Cups at Yanmar Diesel, seven league scoring crowns and seven Japanese footballer of the year awards. Career record: 61 caps and 55 goals for Japan; club career at Cerezo Osaka; honours include Hall of Fame 2014.
Japan · 2016–23 · CB
Hajime Moriyasu sent him on at half-time on 23 November 2022, Japan a goal down to Germany, rebuilt the back line as a five around him, and won 2-1 on the day of Tomiyasu's World Cup debut. Runner-up with Japan at the 2019 Asian Cup, he won the 2016 AFC U-19 Championship with a back line that conceded nothing in six matches and took the 2023 Community Shield during four years at Arsenal. Career record: 23 caps for Japan; club career at Avispa Fukuoka, Bologna F.C. 1909, Arsenal.
The almanac cannot separate them: both are rated 86.
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