On Thursday 6 April, Japan Football Association (JFA) held a press conference at the JFA House in Tokyo and announced 12 members of the Japan Beach Soccer National Team to participate in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017.

Chairman of Futsal Committee KITAZAWA Tsuyoshi and Coach Marcelo MENDES of Japan Beach Soccer National Team were both present during the announcement, and as coach Marcelo called out the 12 members of national team, each participating player of the World Cup entered the conference room and commented their aspirations for the upcoming international competition.

After the meeting, the entire team went to the JFA office and greeted the staff members, before they met Samurai Blue Coach Vahid HALILHODZIC and their staff on office duty and discussed their aspirations and expectations for their respective national teams. At the end, they both looked ahead of the international competitions that await them and braced themselves.

Comments

KITAZAWA Tsuyoshi, Japan Football Association Member of Executive Committee / Chariman of Futsal Commitee
Despite being prepared for the tournament, we struggled through the Asian Qualifiers (AFC Beach Soccer Championship). The competition in Asia was fierce, and as we participated in the championship to prepare for the World Cup, we couldn’t perform as well as expected. However, coach Marcelo selected the national members looking beyond short term and now we have excellent players participating for the coming tournament. In the international friendly matches held in preparation for the World Cup, we were able to compete evenly or even better against some of the powerhouses. I believe we have a team that have the strength to post a better result than the previous compeitiion. Among the different categories of the national teams, our beach soccer team are considered to be the closest to winning the World Cup. We will be aiming for the summit as we make the final preparation for the upcoming tournament.

Marcelo MENDES, Coach (Japan Beach Soccer National Team)
After the World Cup in Portugal, despite the brevity of time, we were able to select the national team members from participating various tournaments and observing closely both the official and friendly matches. Our team are well-balanced comprised not only of young members but also veterans. Two upcoming friendly matches against Germany in Okinawa will be very important as we make the final preparation for the World Cup. Now that the competition of national team has ended, my players should be able to focus on their game without feeling the pressure to perform well to be selected to the Japanese squad.

MOREIRA Ozu (Tokyo Verdy BS), Captain (Japan Beach Soccer National Team)
In preparation for the World Cup and as the captain of the national team, I will do my best to unite the team to attain an excellent result in the tournament.

Schedule

*Local Time
*The schedule may be subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

International Friendly Match

1st 2017-4-15(Sat.) 14:00 (estimated time), 2nd 2017-4-16(Sun.) 14:00 (estimated time)
Japan Beach Soccer National Team vs Germany Beach Soccer National Team
Okinawa/Nishihara Kirakira Beach
Match Information

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017

2017-4-27(Thu.)-5-7(Sun.)
Match Information