The inaugural U-16 International Dream Cup 2015 JAPAN Presented by JFA, targeted to develop the U-16 generation, began its contests on 24 June at J-GREEN Sakai in Osaka.

The tournament opening match between U-16 Japan National Team and U-16 Costa Rica National Team saw Japan come out with 7-0 rout of Costa Rica. In the 16th minute, NAKAMURA Shunta with the ball right in front of Costa Rica goal explosively accelerated and left defenders to composedly score the opener. From that point on, Japan kept dominating throughout the match with six more goals added in the second half.

The next match was U-16 France National Team against U-16 Chile National Team. In the 16th minute, Mickaël Cuisance connected the ball to Calvin Tshilumba, who scored the first goal of the match. Although Chile also kept threatening the France goal with counter attacks, the match without any more goal went into the additional time.

Two minutes into the added time, Chile was awarded a free kick opportunity on the right flank in French end. The feed by Jose Aguilera was headed in by Ignacio Tapia to equalise the match seconds before the time-up whistle. Based on the tournament regulations, the two teams engaged in a penalty shootout. Chile kept the momentum right into the shootout, went ahead and sealed the dramatic win.

After the first day, U-16 Japan National Team are leading the rest of the participating countries. As this tournament is played by the round-robin system, two more matches will be played both on 26 at J-GREEN Sakai and on 28 at Kincho Stadium to finalise the standings.

Head Coaches’ Comments

MORIYAMA Yoshiro, Head Coach (U-16 Japan National Team)
We were able to keep scoring in unexpected ways. There were some luck factors also, but I think we made a good start.

Our defensive leader Hashioka and others worked so hard that we didn’t allow many chances to the opponents. Our ball movement up front was good, too. We will keep focused against Chile and France by telling ourselves that we are the challengers against better opponents. We want to show each player’s strength and play active and lively football.

Hernán Caputto, Head Coach (Chile National U-16 Team)
We had a chance to play against a very good team. We needed to be disciplined both offensively and defensively. We were expecting that we would have only a few chances to score. So I told players before the match to stay patient.

I told them that our chances would come and we would not miss those. It came true in the end. This match is practically a draw, but I am very satisfied because we could play like this well against a team who are one-year older.

We will have two more matches against Japan and Costa Rica. We will keep working hard to show good performance.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

U-16 France National Team vs U-16 Chile National Team Highlight

U-16 Japan National Team vs U-16 Costa Rica National Team Highlight

Match Schedule

Match Day 1
Wednesday 24 June at J-GREEN Sakai Main Field [S1]
U-16 Japan National Team   7-0   U-16 Costa Rica National Team
U-16 France National Team   1-1 (PK 6-7)   U-16 Chile National Team

Match Day 2
Friday 26 June at J-GREEN Sakai Main Field [S1]
14:30 Kick-off (tbd)   U-16 Japan National Team  vs  U-16 Chile National Team
17:00 Kick-off (tbd)   U-16 France National Team  vs  U-16 Costa Rica National Team

Match Day 3
Sunday 28 June at Kincho Stadium
12:30 Kick-off (tbd)   U-16 Chile National Team  vs  U-16 Costa Rica National Team
15:00 Kick-off (tbd)   U-16 Japan National Team  vs  U-16 France National Team

* Attendance to all matches is free of charge.