The quarterfinal fixtures of the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA 32nd U-15 Japan Football Championship took place at Gunma and Osaka on Sunday 20 December.

Pick-up Match1

FC Lavida 0-0 (0-0, 0-0, PK3-4) Sagan Tosu U-15

The match between Sagan Tosu U-15 (Kyushu2/Saga) and FC Lavida (Kanto1/Saitama), two sides who have shown great success in recent tournaments, started with FC Lavida taking the initiative, as coach MURAMATSU Akito later reflected, “We were able to find our own rhythm.” The Saitama side kept the ball moving with their short passes and combination plays, while ISHIKAWA Hotaka mixed up long passes to break down the Tosu defence.

Despite their early struggles, Tosu managed to keep the score tied 0-0 at halftime. After making adjustments in the second half, Tosu started to create more opportunities, as their centre halves HAYASHI Sotaro and OBA Shotaro delivered effective passes from the back line, while the team utilised the width of the field to attack the flanks. However, both sides lacked quality to convert their chances in the attacking third, as the score line remained scoreless after 80 minutes of play, sending the match into PK shootouts. Tosu made all but one of their spot-kicks, while Lavida missed two, sending Tosu into the semi-finals.

Pick-up Match2

Vissel Kobe U-15 1-2 (1-0, 0-2) FC Tama Junior Youth

In the second match, it was Vissel Kobe U-15 (Kansai2/Hyogo) who found their rhythm in the early minutes. While defending with a 4-2-3-1 formation, the two fullbacks made aggressive overlaps to add layers to their offence. With their defensive midfielder, TSUGIHASHI Daichi, initiating their attacks, Kobe scored the opener in the 14th minute, as AE Masatsugu converted a play following a CK to take the lead. Kobe took full control over FC Tama Junior Youth (Kanto6/Tokyo) in the first half, as they entered halftime with a 1-0 lead.

However, the tides changed dramatically in the second half. FC Tama came out playing with great aggression to start the second half, as their coach HIRABAYASHI Kiyoshi sent his players onto the pitch by telling them, “We cannot retreat. We must score goals.” From their quick pressure upfront, the Tokyo side forced turnovers in the opposing territory and initiated short counters. In the 54th minute, FC Tama’s YAMASHITA Yuto delivered a lobbing pass towards the goal, allowing KIDA Ryoga to make a run and flick the ball into the net. With the equaliser giving them more momentum, FC Tama scored the go-ahead goal in the 65th minute, when Kida captured his second goal of the match, this time converting a cross delivered by SUGAI Tomoki. Despite their struggles in the first half, the tournament debutant, FC Tama, advanced to the semi-finals.

Coaches and Players' Comments

MURAMATSU Akito, Coach (FC Lavida)
We have prepared ourselves for this match, so there were some aspects that worked out our way. The wind was blowing hard, so we tried to utilise long balls, which is one of our opponent’s weak points. However, it took us too long to score a goal, as we lacked quality at the final third. We looked too eager to score a goal and over-played each of the plays. The team managed to make adjustments as the match progressed and we were confident to win the PKs, but all and all, we had to score goals within regulation time.

ISHIKAWA Hotaka (FC Lavida)
With our centre half, SANUGA Daimon, being suspended for this match, we really wanted to advance to the semi-finals and give him the chance to play on the pitch, so we managed to enter the match with a positive vibe. We played well and thought we had a good chance of winning, but we fell short and it made us realise the difficulties of reaching the semi-finals.

OKAMOTO Yukihiro, Coach (Vissel Kobe U-15)
The early goal gave us great momentum. We kept our eyes on Kida, and our defence was functioning well in the first half. In the second half, we wanted to use the upwind to our advantage, but conversely got overwhelmed by the opponent’s intensity. We have fought against many strong town-clubs in Kansai, and we are starting to realise that it has become more and more difficult to win matches, even for J.League academy clubs.

KIDA Ryoga (FC Tama Junior Youth)
We have been working on our crosses in our trainings, so the two goals came just the way we envisioned. We have lost only one official match this season, but we are not satisfied with this result yet. Our senior players have told us to challenge their record of reaching the quarterfinals of last year’s Club Youth Football Championship, so we hope to go beyond their achievement by winning the semi-finals.

Prince Takamado Trophy JFA 32nd U-15 Japan Football Championship

Tournament duration: Sat. 12 - Mon. 28 December 2020

Tournament Information