The 18th Sec. of the Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League will take place on Sunday 8 December, where all 20 teams will play their final match of the regular season. With Aomori Yamada High School (Aomori) and Nagoya Grampus U-18 (Aichi) clinching the league lead in respective leagues, the focus turns to the survival race in both leagues.

EAST

The Kashiwa derby will take place in Chiba, as Kashiwa Reysol U-18 (Chiba) and Ryutsu Keizai University Kashiwa High School (Chiba) are scheduled to go head to head. Despite having a strong start to the season, Reysol has been winless since sec. 13. Their key to success will rely on their ace OKUDA Hiryu (#9), as the team has been kept scoreless in the past two matches at the Premier League. The fixture between Funabashi Municipal High School (Chiba) and Aomori Yamada High School, features an enticing matchup between the two #10s, as Funabashi’s SUZUKI Yuito (#10) and Aomori Yamada’s TAKEDA Hidetoshi (#10) will take the field. The two players have shown great form at the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament qualifiers, and they will certainly play a key role in the season finale of the Premier League.

Shimizu S-Pulse Youth (Shizuoka) will welcome Omiya Ardija U18 (Saitama) to their home. Shimizu has been kept winless from the start of November. NORIEGA Erick (#4) will lead the way to rebuild their defence and seek to finish the season on the high note. With both teams needing a victory to avoid relegation, the matchup between eighth place Jubilo Iwata U-18 (Shizuoka) and last place Kashima Antlers Youth (Ibaraki) will be a huge match for both teams.

The pick-up match in the EAST features the fixture between Shoshi High School (Fukushima) and Urawa Red Diamonds Youth (Saitama). With Shoshi ranked in ninth place, the team is in a must win situation to avoid relegation. Team captain YAMAUCHI Sora (#10) will take the lead to break down the solid Urawa defence, who has conceded the fewest goals (14) this season.

WEST

After being in contention for the title race during the first half of the season, Gamba Osaka Youth (Osaka) has had a rough second half of the season, and now in the midst of a four game winless streak. With the team facing the league leaders Nagoya Grampus U-18 at home, OTANI Yuto (#18) will try to lead the Osaka side to victory while his eyes are set to take the top scorer award. Eighth place Cerezo Osaka U-18 (Osaka) is set to face last place Ehime FC U-18 (Ehime) at home. Despite having a tough season, Cerezo has won their recent match against Vissel Kobe U-18 (Hyogo) to earn their fifth win of the season, which saw their rank rise from ninth to eighth. With Cerezo sitting just one rank above the relegation zone, the final match of the season will be a crucial match that will determine their fate for next season.

The fixture between Vissel Kobe U-18 and Higashi Fukuoka High School (Fukuoka) will feature an exciting matchup between two game makers, as Kobe’s YAMAUCHI Kakeru (#7) and Fukuoka’s ARAKI Ryotaro (#10) will go head to head. It will be interesting to see which ace will take command in the midfield to lead their team to victory. Ozu High School (Kumamoto) will seek to showcase their solid defence when they welcome Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18 (Kyoto) to their home field. The Kumamoto side will seek to contain the two Kyoto wingers, YAMADA Fuki (#10) and NAKANO Ryuma (#14) in order to take the final match of the season.

The pick-up match of the WEST will be the match between Avispa Fukuoka U-18 (Fukuoka) and Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C Youth (Hiroshima). Currently sitting in ninth place, Avispa is in a must win situation to keep their survival hopes alive. Their destiny will lie on the shoulders of their ace ISHII Ryoma (#9), who scored a brace in their 3-2 victory last week. On the other side, Hiroshima will enter the final week with a five game undefeated streak. Led by their ace AYUKAWA Shun (#10), they will try to end this season on a high note.

Prince Takamado Trophy JFA U-18 Football Premier League 2019

League Duration: Sat. 6 April - Sun. 8 December 2019

League Information