◆Date: Wed. 9 November [14:30 (local time)]
◆Venue: Gayal Beach (Neom, Saudi Arabia)

Japan Beach Soccer National Team 5 (3-2, 0-1, 2-3) 6 Oman Beach Soccer National Team

【Goals】
<1p>
1' OKUYAMA Masanori
2' Goal against
7' Goal against
9' OKUYAMA Masanori
11' KAWAI Yusuke
<2p>
9' Goal against
<3p>
1' Goal against
5' AKAGUMA Takuya
5' Goal against
5' SHIBAMOTO Shinya
10' Goal against

Starting Line-up
GK KAWAI Yusuke
FP MOREIRA Ozu, OBA Takaaki, MATSUO Naoya, OKUYAMA Masanori

Reserve
GK SHIBAMOTO Shinya
FP YAMAUCHI Shusei, AKAGUMA Takuya, UESATO Takumi, KIBUNE Yuki, SAITO Gaiya, TANAKA Hayate

Match Report

On Wednesday 9 November, the Japan Beach Soccer National Team faced the Oman Beach Soccer National Team in their first match of the Neom Beach Soccer Cup held in Saudi Arabia.

The match started with Japan taking the initiative through their 2-2 formation, in which the goalkeeper actively got involved in their ball possession and offence.

Japan scored the opening goal in the first minute, when OKUYAMA Masanori (Loewe Yokohama) converted a deflection off of a shot following a corner kick. However, Oman responded by scoring from a free kick in the second minute, followed by another goal scored in the seventh minute to take the lead.

Despite conceding the lead, Japan managed to capitalise on the opportunities created by their goalkeeper. In the ninth minute, KIBUNE Yuki (Averdade Kumamoto BS) responded to a deflection caused by a shot taken by KAWAI Yusuke (Tokyo Verdy BS) to setup the goal of Okuyama to equalise the match. The Japanese goalkeeper then scored a goal himself, as Kawai superbly carried the ball up the field before firing a shot that captured the corner of the goal to make it 3-2 before the break.

Although Japan continued to control the ball possession in the second period, it was Oman who scored the next goal, as they once again capitalised on a free kick to level the score. With this goal being the only goal scored in the second period, the match entered the final period tied at 3-3.

Oman started the action by scoring a goal with an acrobatic volley shot in the first minute, but Japan responded with an overhead shot scored by AKAGUMA Takuya (Lazo Apego Kitakyusyu) in the fifth minute. Despite giving up a goal in the very next play, SHIBAMOTO Shinya (Averdade Kumamoto BS), who came off the bench to replace Kawai, recorded his first international goal to equalise the game once again.

In efforts to start off the tournament with a victory, Japan continued to press forward, but struggled to find ways to score a goal. And the decisive moment came in the 10th minute, when Oman intercepted a pass and converted a one-on-one to take the lead, which proved to be the winner, handing Japan a 5-6 loss.

The Japan Beach Soccer National Team will now face Bahrain in their second match of the tournament on Thursday 10 November.

Players’ Comments

GK #22 SHIBAMOTO Shinya (Averdade Kumamoto BS)
While we entered the tournament with the intention of winning the title, we started the group stage with a loss. Although we were able to possess the ball for a long time, we conceded number of goals from our own mistakes, which led to this result. Personally, I am very disappointed of the fact that the team lost after I entered when the game was tied, but I am happy to score my first international goal from a play we had worked through our trainings. We still have a chance to advance through, so we will focus on winning the remaining two matches in the group stage.

FP #11 OKUYAMA Masanori (Loewe Yokohama)
Following the tournament in Dubai, we entered this tournament with the aim of playing with more consistency and raising the overall standard of the team. In our first match against Oman, we were able to take control of the ball possession and create chances from plays we had worked in our trainings but conceded too many mistakes and fouls which led to number of goals. We also gave up goals from kick-offs, which is something we had to be more careful of. I think we dominated the match and played a stable game but lacked experience as a team in terms of game management. This match reminded us of the difficulty of beach soccer, but we need to make the most of this experience and focus on earning better results in our next match against Bahrain, especially with next year’s Asian qualifiers in mind. Each staff member of the Japan Beach Soccer National Team plays many roles and works 120% every day for the team's victory. In order not to let the efforts of the staff go to waste, the team will work as one and play with the pride of the Japan National Team.

Neom Beach Soccer Cup

Tournament period: Wed. 9 - Sat. 12 November 2022

Tournament Information