On June Getsuku, actor Junichi Okada appeared at a McDonald's Japan-original product launch event for "VIVA! World Mac" held in Tokyo, alongside Yuka Kageyama and Yuji Nakazawa.
Okada, who will appear in the new World Mac commercial "World Mac 'National Team Announcement'" airing from the 16th, will play the role of "Coach Okada" and announce the national team members in the same way as the Japanese national team members are announced. Reflecting on the filming, he said, "I had the experience of selecting players who are staking their lives on this. I was very nervous."
He also mentioned that he filmed several commercials, and revealed, "In Japan, we have managers named Okada in baseball and soccer, but for this commercial, I tried to imagine a different manager... so I differentiated my performance based on the manager."
When asked what he would be paying attention to in the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026, Okada answered with a flip chart, "The movements of players without the ball." He passionately explained, "I'm interested in how players without the ball move, where they get the ball when it's won back, and how they move at that moment. Players who are quick to get out of position are good at positioning themselves."
Former Japan national football team player Nakazawa commented, "That's an amazing comment from a coach's perspective. In real football, it's about how the coach observes the movements of players without the ball. Coach Takeshi Okada told me many similar things." Okada smiled and said, "My soul is 'Takeshi'!"
