“I have a target of eight goals to score in this competition. I have made a good start by scoring two, but I need to keep improving and hopefully, I will score more in the coming matches,” said the 17-year-old.

He struck after three minutes with a close range finish, and bagged his second with an unstoppable header after 15 minutes as Japan cruised to an impressive win.

Like many of his senior compatriots who have lived up to the expectations of the No 10 shirt, Yoshida has big plans for his career.

“Ritsu Doan wore the No 10 and was one of the stars for Japan at the last World Cup. I admire him a lot and like him, my goal is also to play and win the World Cup with Japan someday,” added the Kashima Antlers player.

Japan head coach Nozomi Hiroyama admitted he was surprised to come away with the big win.

“My players were brave and they played positively throughout the game. This was the most challenging aspect which they executed well. It won’t be an easy game against Vietnam, but we will keep going,” said Hiroyama, who has set his sight on going the distance in Saudi Arabia.

“We respect this tournament a lot, we have plenty of history. We will do our best and hopefully, it will be enough for us to win it,” he said.

The four-time champions will almost surely seal their quarter-final berth with a victory against Vietnam on Monday, which will also guarantee a place at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025.