The 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
Third-place match vs Afghanistan Futsal National Team
26 September 2017 (Tue.) Kick-off 17:00 (Local Time) Playing Time 40min.(20min.×2）
Multifunctional Sport Venue Hall-1 (Ashgabat, Turkmenistan)

Japan Futsal National Team 1-1（0-0, 1-1, PK3-1）Afghanistan Futsal National Team

Scores
31'　goal against（Afghanistan Futsal National Team）
35'　HORIGOME Shota（Japan Futsal National Team）

Starting Line-ups
GK：YAZAWA Daimu
FP：YAGI Kiyoto, SAITO Koichi, MUROTA Yuki, HASHIMOTO Masaya

Reserves
GK：MIURA Taku, UEHARA Takuya
FP：HARA Shinsuke, TAMURA Kasho, HORIGOME Shota, UEMATSU Koto, MORIMURA Takashi, UEMURA Atsuya

Match Report

After falling to Uzbekistan on penalties in the semi-finals on Sunday 24 September, Japan Futsal National Team competed in the third-place match for a bronze-medal on Tuesday 26. Their opponents were Afghanistan national team, who have many skilful players and reached this far after gaining momentum from advancing out of the group stage.

Before sending his players onto the court, Japanese coach Bruno GARCIA stated, ‘We have captured the heart of the spectators by competing with pride of a Japanese international, showing excellent teamwork and organisation, and displaying competitive spirit and fighting until the end of the match. This is not just a last game, but our final as well. Let’s return home with a bronze medal.’

Japan took the initiative from the beginning of the match by creating a number of scoring chances, but failed to capitalise on any of them in the early part of the game. Afghanistan, on the other hand, displayed their resilience by neutralising the menacing attacks from Garcia's men and the momentum gradually shifted towards their side as they orchestrated effective quick counter-attacks and capitalised on their excellent individual skills to threaten the Japanese goal.

The game stayed in the balance for more than 30 minutes, but it was the Middle Eastern side who struck first. In the 31st minute, Afghanistan took advantage of a set piece by finding an open player in the centre to fire a shot at goal. His initial effort hit the crossbar, but the deflection was tapped in with composure into the Japanese net to give them a 1-0 lead.

Japan looked like the better side in the game so far, but they now stood one-goal behind against the Afghan squad. However, the Japanese internationals responded well to adversity and came back to score an equaliser four minutes later. After 35 minutes, HASHIMOTO Masaya collected a ball on the left side and sent a clever incisive cross to the front of the goal, where HORIGOME Shota fired home and levelled the match with a brilliant volley shot.

In the last 5 minutes of play, both sides fashioned several scoring opportunities, but were unable to convert any of them before the second ended all tied at one apiece. The third-place match went directly into penalty shootout without an overtime contest in accordance with the tournament regulations.

In the penalties, Japanese kickers MUROTA Yuki and YAGI Kiyoto converted from the spot, while goalkeeper YAZAWA Daimu made an excellent save to block the first attempt from Afghanistan. The excitement was reaching fever pitch inside the stadium before Japan’s next kicker, HASHIMOTO Masaya, placed the ball down for kicking. Then, the Japanese international made no mistake to score the last shot of the game and sealed a 3-1 win on penalties for his team.

With this result, Japan clinched third in the tournament and earned a bronze medal to finish their Asian campaign with a promising performance that brought high hopes for future competitions.

The final standings of the tournament were: Gold medallists (winners) Iran, Silver medallists (runners-up) Uzbekistan, Bronze medallists (third-place team) Japan and Afghanistan in fourth place.

Coach's and Players' Comments

Bruno GARCIA, Coach (Japan Futsal National Team)
We assembled the team with players who haven’t had much international experience like the tournament we just competed in. However, with each game in the competition, they gained precious experience, and took advantage of the distinctive atmosphere inside the stadium and played with focus and determination. I believe this is a unique experience that you cannot get it elsewhere. Moreover, I found it wonderful that we all worked hard and earned a medal at the end and saw the Japanese national team get back to the podium in a major international tournament as well. I must praise my players’ for all their hard work. We also saw many upsets in the tournament as some of the favourites were eliminated in the early stages and I believe we can take full credit for attaining positive results in such competition as well. Young Japanese internationals have proven themselves with excellent performances. I am convinced that we will continue to excel in future competition as well.

GK #1 MIURA Taku (ESPOLADA HOKKAIDO)
We finished third in the tournament. However, no one is satisfied with this result as we all worked hard and made the necessary preparations to win the championship, and were certain that we would be the winners at the end. What we do from here on is going to be important. We also know that Japan will be a stronger team if each one of us work hard and become better futsal players before returning to the national team. We will aim and climb higher next time. Thank you very much for all your support.

FP #5 HORIGOME Shota (SHRIKER OSAKA)
Our teammate Shimizu was serving a one-game suspension after receiving a red card in the previous game. We all entered the third-place match, saying ‘we will win it for Shimizu’. It was a difficult match as the opponents struck first, but we were well-prepared even for a penalty shootout and I frankly didn’t feel like we were going to losing this one. I am pleased that we are returning home with a bronze medal. I am looking to capitalise on this precious experience for my future futsal career. I will continue my hard work to get reselected to the national team as well.

FP #10 MUROYA Yuki (PESCADOLA MACHIDA)
We ended the tournament in third place. We couldn’t accomplish our goal of winning the tournament, but we fought hard in every single match and made significant improvements as a team. Personally, I was named captain of the team and gained precious experience by playing together with my teammates as well. I would like to thank everyone who came to cheer us in the stadium as well as those who supported us back in Japan. Thank you very much for all your support.

FP #11 SHIMIZU Kazuya (FUGADOR SUMIDA)
We beat Afghanistan on penalties and clinched third place in the tournament. This is the team that were assembled prior to FUTSAL KOBE FESTA and since then we had several training camps before heading to this competition. After going through these camps, we finally built up a team that could showcase what our coach demanded on the court. We faced tough matches from the beginning of the tournament, but we performed well as a united team. However, we shouldn’t be satisfied with this result. We should aim to be the best in Asia and become better futsal players to achieve that goal.

Schedule

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

The 5th Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games Ashgabat 2017

Tournament Period：16 September 2017(Sat.) ～ 26 September 2017(Tue.)
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