北京时间3月27日，2026国际足联系列赛澳大利亚站首场比赛，中国队在悉尼迎战首次打入世界杯的库拉索，凭借韦世豪和张玉宁上下半场各一个进球，中国队2比0取得胜利。         Illustration: Xia Qing/GT
The yen has weakened in recent days, edging closer to the psychologically important 160 level against the US dollar. The decline comes despite the widely watched move by Washington to join Tokyo in supporting the currency. Less than two weeks after the US-Japan intervention, the yen has given up roughly half of its gains, raising fresh questions over the effectiveness of coordinated efforts to stabilize the exchange rate.
Japan and the US had previously confirmed coordinated foreign exchange intervention to prop up the yen after the currency tumbled to a nearly 40-year low. At the time, some observers saw the move as potentially stabilizing the yen in the short term, although its longer-term impact remained uncertain. 
However, the subsequent market reaction suggests that even the short-term effect may have been limited. After strengthening to about 155 per dollar in the days following the intervention from above 163, the yen had slipped back above 159 by Wednesday, less than two weeks later.
Questions have emerged over whether further support for the yen may soon be needed, and whether Washington would consider stepping in again. The previous intervention was seen by some observers as a test of market confidence: the unusual coordinated move had the potential to influence market expectations and discourage bets against the yen. But if market expectations remain largely unchanged, repeated interventions could deliver diminishing returns. The US may face a difficult trade-off. Another intervention could require greater resources and come at a higher cost, while refraining from further action could raise questions over the lasting impact of the previous effort.
Market commentary has added to the uncertainty. Axios published a report headlined "Yen's weakness shows market isn't done pushing," while some reports suggested that the impact of the US-Japan intervention was beginning to fade. Such narratives could weigh on sentiment toward the yen and reinforce market expectations that the currency's weakness may persist.
Washington's involvement in supporting the yen may reflect broader economic and policy considerations. These could include avoiding a scenario in which Japan sells US Treasury holdings to support the currency, as well as concerns that a weaker yen could give Japanese exporters a greater competitive advantage. These possible considerations suggest that the intervention alone does not fully address the underlying forces behind the yen's weakness. This may help explain why the market has so far been reluctant to view the move as a turning point for the currency.
Washington's decision to join the intervention may have reflected concerns, as some observers suggest, that the yen's prolonged weakness had begun to affect US interests. If markets remain unconvinced by the US-Japan intervention, one possible outcome is that Washington could push Japan to take more costly measures to support the yen. Such a scenario could instead create some strain between Washington and Tokyo.
Beyond short-term market dynamics, the yen's weakness also reflects deeper challenges facing the Japanese economy, making a sustained reversal difficult. The currency's prolonged weakness has been influenced by the interest rate gap between Japan and the US, while also reflecting longer-term concerns over the diminishing returns of Japan's traditional growth model.
This leaves Japan facing a delicate policy balance between supporting growth and stabilizing the currency. While lower interest rates could help boost economic activity, continued weakness in the yen may strengthen calls for Japan's central bank to consider further rate increases to narrow the interest rate gap with the US.
Japan's structural challenges mean that a sustained appreciation of the yen will not be easy to achieve. The question of whether to pursue stronger measures, even at the cost of some economic growth, has become more complicated as the US takes a role in the issue. Japan may face greater pressure to support the currency, even though doing so would be difficult and could carry broader economic costs.
The author is a reporter with the Global Times. [email protected]

。本场比赛是邵佳一上任国足主帅后的第一场正式比赛，国足前往澳大利亚的26人大名单中包括10名23岁以下球员，其中杨希、刘浩帆、徐彬和王钰栋四人本场比赛首发出场，邵佳一首发阵容安排了常规的4-2-3-1体系，门将颜骏凌，四后卫杨希、朱辰杰、刘浩帆、刘洋，双后腰徐彬、王上源，三名攻击型前卫谢文能、韦世豪、王钰栋，单前锋张玉宁。在中超前三轮比赛中，国足攻击线上四名球员状态火热，其中谢文能打入2球，韦世豪打入1球，王钰栋和张玉宁各打入3球，两人也在射手榜并列第一位。而本场比赛是杨希、徐彬国家队首秀，由于四名U23国脚的首发，国足首发平均年龄下降到26.2岁，远低于对手的29.8岁。而库拉索球员身价估值远超国足，他们阵容中15人曾代表荷兰青年队出战。球队超过70%球员效力于欧洲联赛，其中荷甲8人、英冠3人、土超2人，整体身价估值约2800万欧元，虽然最大牌的华裔球员陈达毅未能首发，但首发身价估值依然达到1290万欧元，正好是国足身价估值645万欧元的两倍。上半场开始后国足进入状态更快，连续创造出角球机会，而库拉索险些抓住了中国队角球进攻的转换，第10分钟库拉索封堵了国足角球进攻的远射机会，随即创造出3打1的反击机会，得亏王上源在中线成功预判了对方的传球路线断下皮球。

二 | 僵持阶段王钰栋和徐彬先后因为防守中的犯规吃到黄牌，上半场伤停补时阶段国足打破僵局，颜骏凌长传打到前场，张玉宁头球后蹭，韦世豪前插左脚凌空斜射远角破门，半场国足1比0领先。这是国足上半场第一次有效射门，技术统计显示国足上半场6次射门1次射正，而对手3次射门零射正。

三 | 控球率方面库拉索63%对37%遥遥领先。下半场刚开始邵佳一用拜合拉木换下上半场尾声阶段对抗中受伤的谢文能，而库拉索一口气换上包括陈达毅在内的四名球员，第47分钟韦世豪左路内切后离门30米开外大力远射被对方门将扑出，一分钟后王钰栋左路造成对方禁区内混乱，可惜拜合拉木禁区内停球失误，中国队发动二次进攻，杨希传中，王钰栋禁区内头球射门偏出。第49分钟，徐彬滑铲对方球员，好在主裁判手下留情并未掏出第二张黄牌。

四 | 第59分钟，库拉索第一次解围失误给了王钰栋左路低平球传中的机会，随后禁区中路防守球员再次解围失误把球直接给了张玉宁，张玉宁左脚推射破门将比分扩大为2比0。

五 | 此后中国队连换三人，程进、黄嘉辉对位换下王上源、徐彬，胡荷韬对位换下刘洋；第77分钟，刘诚宇、蒯纪闻、林良铭对位换下张玉宁、韦世豪、王钰栋，中国队中前场更换了完全不同的首发组合，更多年轻球员在本场比赛得到了出场机会。最终中国队2比0获胜。

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