On 23 December, the 4 quarter final matches of the Prince Takamado Trophy 26th All-Japan Youth (U-15) Football Championship will be taking place.

The defending champion Urawa Red Diamonds Junior Youth (Kanto 4) will play against Vissel Kobe U-15 (Kansai 2). Urawa has been in a positive mood after winning their two previous matches against SSS Junior Youth (Hokkaido 2) and Kashiwa Reysol U-15 (Kanto 1). Kashiwa Reysol are the winners of the first league of the Kanto area. Vissel Kobe, on the other hand, has played well balanced offense and defense, with 6 goals and keeping clean sheets in their previous matches. Vissel Kobe has made 35 shots in total and we can expect they will attack Urawa’s goal aggressively this time.

The match between Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-15 (Kansai 3), the 2011 champions, and Yokohama F・Marinos Junior Youth（Kanto3／Kanagawa）will be interesting. Kyoto has moved on to the quarter final stage after initially beating Nagoya Grampus U15 (Tokai 2) and then Consadole Sapporo U-15 (Hokkaido 1) by one goal. Due to their higher defense, they allowed Consadole only 4 shots on goal and won the match. Yokohama FM on the other hand, their two centre-back players URAKAWA Ruka and YAMADA Kota are expected to get involved and are expected to create good offensive chances.

The defending champion of the Sunrise League of Kansai, Cerezo Osaka Junior Youth (Kansai 1), will play against Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Junior Youth (Chugoku 1). Cerezo’s playing style is based on the players’ physical strength and they don’t allow opponents’ many shots in the previous matches with Oita Trinita U-15 and Cerezo Osaka West U-15 (Kansai 5), and they took the lead from the 1st half to win these matches. Sanfrecce, on the other hand, have 3 players who are probable candidates for U-15 National Squad Team. AKEHI Tomohiro, KAWAMURA Takumu, and SENDA Taishi are expected to be the key since they are the team’s only goal scores in their previous matches.

The match between Yokohama F・Marinos Junior Youth Oppama（Kanto6／Kanagawa）and FC Tokyo U-15 Fukagawa (Kanto 2) is worth checking out. Yokohama FM Oppama’s strength is persistent defense along with the team’s goalkeeper ARA Takafumi. “I know all teams aim to win but we will be the one that does,” says ARA. Indeed, the team has kept wining in this Championship. FC Tokyo has won 2 consecutive matches against Shimizu S-Pulse Junior Youth (Tokai 1) who are the defending champion of Tokai Regional League, and Gamba Osaka Junior Youth (Kansai 4). Offensive players such as SHINADA Manato and KAJITANI Kaito have been in good form so far in this competition. While gaining confidence throughout their matches so far, which team will go on to the semi-final?

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

Saturday, December 20, 2014 - Saturday December 27, 2014
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