Two semi-finals of the 38th Japan U-12 Football Championship were held at the Shizuoka Ashitaka Park Multi-purpose Field (Numazu, Shizuoka) and two teams advancing to the final were decided.

Cerezo Osaka U-12 (Osaka) showed its driving force forward from the beginning of the game against Yokogawa Musashino Football Club Jr. (Tokyo), scoring 3 points, including eighth goal by Yuji YOSHIDA in this competition, by 18th minute of the first half. Yokogawa Musashino FC recovered the momentum after entering into the second half, however, failed to gain goals. Cerezo Osaka won the match 3-0 to advance to the final.

Though Regista FC (Saitama) kept playing aggressively within Kashiwa Reysol U-12 (Chiba)'s side, it gave a penalty kick to Kasiwa in the second half. Takumi KUMAKURA, GK of Regista FC saved on that penalty kick to get his team out of trouble, but losing goal right after that moment. Although Kashiwa Raysol lost one point after adding another point, keeping the lead to get the ticket of the final game.

The dream tournament had the final match and Marugame Football Club (Kagawa) beat Esperanza FC (Okinawa) with 3-0.
The final match will be kicked off at 9:30 on Saturday, August 9th. The Champion team will be decided finally.

Comments

MATSUMOTO Taichi (Yokogawa Musashino Football Club Jr, Tokyo)
We lost points at an early stage and then the opponent gained the momentum. We've just kicked a ball forward, failing to keep and move it intentionally as "my ball" It is also a point of reflection that we have been passive due to the lack of the opponent's information. Under such condition, we regained momentum again in the second half, as we tried to play our style soccer without caring a gap of scores. I will try to continue my effort to play patient under severe situation.

YOSHIDA Yuji (Cerezo Osaka U-12, Osaka)
I was definitely going to win this match to advance to the final. I successfully pushed my body into the open space and tried to shoot a ball into a far side with closely watching GK's movement, when I scored a point. I was sorry not to play with Ryosei Fukuzaki who is a good player with No.10 of the opponent's team but was absent from the game due to his injury. I have cared little about becoming the top scorer in this tournament. I hope to make contribution to the victory of my team. I absolutely want to win the next match to be a champion.

KUMAKURA Takumi (Regista FC, Saitama)
I felt the sting of defeat, as I wanted to win this match. I was definitely going to save a penalty kick, trying not to lose a point. My team had the game in its hand in the first half, however, losing the chance to gain goals. The opponent played in the second half more aggressively and patiently than the first half. I struggled to deal with the opponent FWs who tried to run in front of me. I will try to learn a lot from this defeat to win championships in various competitions.

NAKAJIMA Shun (Kasiwa Raysol, Chiba)
We were pointed out by our head coach in the half-time that we had still been half asleep, so we tried to switch our mind with standing in a circle. On an opening point, I intentionally shot a ball to a far side with watching GK's movement. I really wanted to win this game with the opponent having stonewalling defence. This match was the best one for us as we successfully scored a point from the tough opponent. I will try to play aggressively from the beginning of the final, keeping my fighting spirit to the last minute.

The 38th Japan U-12 Football Championship

Duration: Mon. 4 August to Sat. 9 August 2014
Venue:
<1st round ～ Final Tournament (Quarter-finals)>
Gotemba Tokinosumika Susono Ground (Susono, Shizuoka)
<Final Tournament (Semi-finals / Final)>
Shizuoka Ashitaka Park Multi-purpose Field (Numazu, Shizuoka)