“We would like to play more aggressively than what we did in the last tournament,” Ikeda tells the-AFC.com, referencing Japan’s quarter-final finish on home soil in Tokyo in 2021.

“We are confident we can show our Nadeshiko style performance, and we promise to play with 100 percent effort. And by playing like this game-by-game I’m sure there will be a medal waiting for us.”

The Japanese have reached the knockout rounds of the Olympic tournament at four of the last five tournaments, with the Nadeshiko only missing out in 2016 when the nation failed to qualify for the Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The country’s best performance came in London four years prior to that disappointment when Norio Sasaki steered his team to the final, where Japan lost 2-1 against the United States to take home the silver medal.

Ikeda is no stranger to success on the international stage having taken Japan to the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup title in 2018 and the former defender has been in his current role since 2021, when he replaced Asako Takakura at the helm.

He saw his team advance to the semi-finals of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup India 2022™, before leading the Nadeshiko to the quarter-finals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.

On the way to the last eight Ikeda’s side handed eventual champions Spain a 4-0 defeat in Wellington in the group phase but, with the nations due to meet on July 25, the 53-year-old knows the previous performance will have little bearing on what happens in Nantes.

“The first match of a tournament is always important,” says Ikeda, whose team defeated DPR Korea over two legs to book their berth in Paris. “We need to prepare thoroughly to begin the Olympics in good form.

“The victory against Spain in the last FIFA Women’s World Cup is already an event in the past. We gained confidence from that victory, but we have to consider how we compete with them this time.

“It will be a tough match anyway. I’m looking to make our attacking duration longer than in the last match against Spain.”

The Japanese follow up their meeting with Spain by facing Brazil in Paris on July 28 before closing out their group stage commitments against the Nigerians three days later in Nantes.

Only the top two finishers are guaranteed to advance, with the two third place finishers with the best records across the three groups also progressing.

“I knew that we would be facing strong teams in the Olympics regardless of the draw result, which only has 12 teams,” says Ikeda. “We need to gain points from strong countries to progress to the knockout stage.

“All the teams are representing each confederation, so every single match will be a tough one. We also need to take extra care of our physical condition during the tournament as we have to play a match every three days.”

Despite that demanding schedule, Ikeda is confident his team will be ready for the challenges which lie ahead.

“We cannot have any team activities outside the international window before the Olympics, but our players have prepared individually for the tournament,” he says. “We started our training camp on July 8, and plan to brush ourselves up through this period.

“We don't feel pressure from the result of the last Olympics. I have been requesting our players to play more aggressively since Tokyo 2020 and we will do our best to win our first medal since London 2012.”