The Prince Takamado Trophy JFA 34th U-15 Japan Football Championship final was held on Tuesday 27 December at Ajinomoto Field Nishigaoka, where Vissel Kobe U-15 (Kansai 1/Hyogo) defeated Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Junior Youth (Chugoku 1/Hiroshima) 3-0 to win their second national title in 13 years.

Final

Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Junior Youth 0-3 (0-0, 0-3) Vissel Kobe U-15

The match started with Kobe controlling the ball possession, but Hiroshima displayed great concentration to defend their goal while also anticipating for their chances to counter. In the 17th minute, Hiroshima’s NOMURA Riro fired a shot from distance that nearly captured the goal, but Kobe’s KAMEDA Taiga made a fine save to deny this opportunity.

Kobe showed great skills to keep the ball moving but couldn’t find ways to finish their plays with a shot, as Hiroshima played with a good balance of offence and defence to keep the pressure on.

In the 34th minute, Kobe delivered a cross to induce a goalmouth scramble, which nearly saw SATOMI Tafuku score a goal. From this point onwards, Kobe started to create more and more chances in the attacking third. With momentum on their side, Kobe broke the deadlock in the 50th minute when WATANABE Hayato connected with a cross to find the back of the net.

After taking the lead, Kobe controlled the pace of the match to create more chances. In the 67th minute, ONISHI Sota scored the team’s second goal, before MORIOKA Reo made it 3-0 in the 70th minute to seal their victory.

Coaches and Players' Comments

ENDO Masahito, Coach (Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Junior Youth)
We tried to demonstrate our football style from the beginning of the match. We knew we couldn’t sustain that pace for the entire match, but we were hoping to score a goal in the early minutes. This was the third time playing against Vissel this season, and we didn’t want to back down, so we continued to challenge them in the second half. This outcome merely highlights the discrepancy between the two teams. We have no regrets because we have done what we have been working on all year. I think the players did well.

DF #5 HAYASHI Shunta (Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Junior Youth)
We applied pressure from our frontline to limit the pass options of our opponents, which seemed to work in the early minutes, but our opponents gradually found ways to get around it. As the match progressed, we began to lose strength and composure, and I think the skill and cleverness of our opponents became more apparent. We weren’t expecting to reach this far when we first launched this team. We are said to be a particularly close team, and I think we made it to the final because we were united as one. We really wanted to finish the tournament with a smile, but we didn’t have what it takes to win at the end. From here, I will work hard to get promoted to the youth team so that I can continue to wear this emblem.

YAMAMICHI Kohei, Coach (Vissel Kobe U-15)
We were overwhelmed by our opponents’ hard work and set pieces in the early minutes, but we started to pick up momentum in the last 10 minutes of the first half. It was great to see our side find our rhythm in the second half and capitalise on the opportunities that were presented to us. It was fantastic that our players made the adjustments on their own, without me telling them what to do. We have worked all year to obtain this title, and we have certainly achieved our goal. I hope this will give our players a boost to their confidence.

MF #10 FUJIMOTO Riku (Vissel Kobe U-15)
With this being the final, I think we were a bit nervous at the beginning. Our defence has not conceded any goals and has been really solid in this tournament, so we defended hard as a team thinking that we could find our rhythm as long as we can keep the clean sheet intact. We had been good at inspiring each other with good plays, which helped us build our momentum in this match as well. Although I was a bit nervous, I am satisfied with my overall performance. We were able to keep clean sheets and score at least three goals in all of our matches, and we were able to cap off the tournament with a wonderful match.

Prince Takamado Trophy JFA 34th U-15 Japan Football Championship

Tournament Dates: Sat. 10 - Tue. 27 December 2022

Tournament Information