The Prince Takamado Trophy U-15, the 27th All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Tournament, took place on Wednesday 23 December as four teams advancing to the semi-finals were determined.

Pick-up Match 1

JFA Academy Fukushima U15   3-1 (2-0, 1-1)   Avispa Fukuoka U-15

The first match at K's Denki Stadium Mito saw JFA Academy Fukushima U15 (Tokai 3) and Avispa Fukuoka U-15 (Kyushu 3) square off each other. While the Fukushima side in the second round beat Yokohama F Marinos Junior Youth, the champions of last summer's Japan Club Youth Football Championship, the Fukuoka side edged Tokushima Vortis Junior Youth (Shikoku 1) and F.C. Tokyo U-15 Musashi (Kanto 2) in fierce contests.

Although both sides went aggressively from the start and created chances in front of goal, JFA Academy gained the initiative. In the 15th minute, SAKUYAMA Hiroki met a left cross at the far post for the opener. And in the 40th minute just before halftime, Academy's Sakuyama won a towering battle for a feed from SEHATA Gijo and put it into the right side of the net to make it a two-goal lead.

Avispa, seeking to come back, started controlling the match with intense pressing from the start of the second half, but the side who scored were again JFA Academy. Sakuyama at centre slammed it with his right foot in the 66th minute to stab a powerful shot into the back of the net to decide the match. As Avispa were battling it out tenaciously, KITAJIMA Yuji put a well-controlled shot into the net. Yet their efforts did not pay off any more than a single goal. With Sakuyama's hat trick shining, JFA Academy picked up a 3-1 win.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Pick-up Match 2

Montedio Yamagata Junior Youth Shonai   1-2 (1-1, 0-1)   Kashima Antlers Junior Youth

In the second match at K's Denki Stadium Mito, Montedio Yamagata Junior Youth Shonai (Tohoku 3), who grabbed the first last four feat in their history, played against Kashima Antlers Junior Youth (Kanto 6), who were looking for the first championship since 2002 at the 14th championship.

Yamagata took action early. Only seconds after the kick-off, NAKO Yusuke opened the scoring at centre after receiving a pass from right side attacker SATO Sota. Although it seemed Yamagata picked up the pace with the goal, Kashima got their nerve back and increased the pressure on the midfield. Kashima's match captain ONUMA Tatsuki said, "we lacked concentration getting into the game. I called to my teammates not to lose their cool and not to give up another goal." Then in the 11th minute, Kashima's OKAWA Takeru met a right corner kick to get his team back on level terms.

The match saw Kashima keeping the pace without any goal into the closing stage. In the 69th minute, Kashima finally went ahead of Yamagata. MASUZAKI Daigo won the aerial battle to head home Onuma's corner kick at the near post. Yamagata also kept running until the end but fell short. Kashima claimed a semi-final spot with two set-pieces.

The semi-final matches will take place on Saturday 26 December at Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka.

Match details (Japanese version only)

Coach and Players' Comments

HIROYAMA Nozomi, Coach (JFA Academy Fukushima U15)
Coming out for the tournament, I have said to the players “let’s play these matches to show what we have worked on for the past 12 months and also to find new assignments.” If we can play five matches all the way to the final, it will be a tremendous experience for us. All these player have shared both good times and difficult times by living in the dormitory together, so that is showing as our strength. We have always played very close contests, so we will tackle what’s in front of us in next match.

SAKUYAMA Hiroki (JFA Academy Fukushima U15)
My teammates carefully kept sending passes to me, and I could score three goals because of that. I thank them for that. I headed in two goals, but those were just the way and the timing I like because I have often practised how to rush in for that. Not only this win but also the win against the Club Youth Champions Yokohama F Marinos gives us confidence, so we want to keep this momentum forward. I think we are better than any other team now, so we will play united and I will try to help the team by scoring goals.

MIYATAKE Futoshi, Coach (Montedio Yamagata Junior Youth Shonai)
Getting pressured by the opponents, we weren’t able to execute how we are supposed to execute, which is making sure to connect passes from the back. We allowed the opponents to take second balls, and also our intensity on the ball, the quality of passes and the way we located the ball weren’t good enough. Even so, we have come this far in this tournament and our players are becoming confident in themselves with every single match they play. We have gained a good experience that can lead us to a better outcome next time. This is the last tournament for our third graders, but I want them to keep playing football with confidence.

ONUMA Tatsuki (Kashima Antlers Junior Youth)
From the get-go, we allowed the opening goal to the opponents. But we didn’t panic, kept talking to each other and were able to turn around the match. We practise set-pieces, and we are confident in our height advantage. We may not be as skilled as other teams, but we have come this far by outhustling and outrunning our opponents. Our chemistry is good and we are not satisfied with being in the last four. We come out for the upcoming matches without losing our fighting spirit to win it all in this last tournament of the season.

Other Matches (Japanese version only)

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Youth (U-15) Football Tournament

2015-12-19 (Sat.) - 12-28 (Mon.)
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