AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ 2024 Qualifiers
Sat. 7 October 2023, 19:00 (Local time)
Match duration: 40 mins (20x2 Playing-time)
Taipe University Stadium (Chinese Taipei, Taiwan)

Japan Futsal National Team 4-0 (2-0, 2-0) Australia Futsal National Team

Scores
9' YOSHIKAWA Tomoki
13' OLIVEIRA Arthur
33' OLIVEIRA Arthur
35' OLIVEIRA Arthur

Starting Line-up
GK: FIUZA Fabio
FP: OLIVEIRA Arthur, YOSHIKAWA Tomoki, TSUTSUMI Yuta, SHIMIZU Kazuya

Reserves
GK: PIRES Higor
FP: UCHIMURA Shunta, ISHIDA Kentaro, YAMANAKA Shoto, HIRATA Neto Antonio Massanori, KANAZAWA Sora, HARADA Kokoro, SAITO Hyuga, UCHIDA Shunta

Match Report

Aiming to progress beyond the quarterfinals at the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024™, Japan Futsal National Team took on Australia in their first match of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ 2024 Qualifiers and got off to a flying start with a 4-0 win thanks to a hat-trick from captain Oliveira Arthur (Shenzhen Nanling Tielang).

Playing their first official match in almost a year since being crowned Asian champions at the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Kuwait 2022, Japan Futsal National Team went into their first match with a new team tactic of attacking while maintaining possession, which they have been working on through international tours and domestic training camps. KUROMOTO Guilherme (Shinagawa City), who was scratched from the squad due to illness, watched from the stands as the 14 players warmed up, including last-minute call-up PIRES Higor (Bardral Urayasu). Head coach KOGURE Kenichiro said before the match, “Today is the first stage in our quest to achieve our best ever result at the World Cup. I want you to demonstrate everything we have worked on leading to this point. The opposition will be desperate to score against us, but it is important that we do not lose the mental battle. We must be determined to win battles at both ends. To achieve our goal, we need to win the first game for our supporters who have come all the way here, for Kuromoto who continues to support us despite being scratched from the squad, and for our family and friends in Japan who are cheering us on.”

Japan started the first period by exchanging quick passes and rotating positions to pin back the opposition. In the ninth minute, Oliveira received a pass from HIRATA Neto Antonio Massanori (Industrias Santa Coloma) on the left side, before unleashing a low driven shot towards the far post that was redirected into the net by YOSHIKAWA Tomoki (Nagoya Oceans). Japan doubled their lead in the 13th minute, when the cross sent by TSUTSUMI Yuta (Y.S.C.C.Yokohama) induced a handball inside the penalty area, setting up Oliveira’s goal from the penalty spot.

In an effort to fight back, Australia began to use their size and strength to create chances, but ISHIDA Kentaro (Bardral Urayasu) showed his defensive prowess to keep the opposing pivo at bay. Australia had a one-on-one opportunity in the 23rd minute, but FIUZA Fabio (Shonan Bellmare), making his international debut, made a fine save to keep the clean sheet intact. Forced to play defensively for a long period, Australia began to show signs of fatigue, allowing Japan to create more chances in the attacking third. After scoring his second goal in the 33rd minute, assisted by HARADA Kokoro (FC Barcelona B), Oliveira completed his hat-trick with his third goal in the 35th minute.

Holding a commanding lead, Japan went onto shutout the Australian attacks, winning the match 4-0. Japan will now play their second match against Chinese Taipei on Wednesday 11 October.

Coach and Players' Comments

KOGURE Kenichiro, Head Coach (Japan Futsal National Team)
First and foremost, I am glad that we were able to win our first match. The local support has been very encouraging and the support from Japan has definitely helped the players. We will recover and prepare well for the match against Chinese Taipei. We look forward to your continued support.

GK #1 FIUZA Fabio (Shonan Bellmare)
I was thrilled to make my debut for Japan and words cannot describe how I felt when I put on the national team jersey. But I am even happier about the team's victory over Australia. I would like to thank everyone who has supported and helped me over the years. We got an important win today, but we have to think about the next game on the 11th. That is the most important thing for all of us.

FP #5 OLIVEIRA Arthur (Shenzhen Nanling Tielang/China PR)
I think we got off to a good start and this win will help us gain momentum as we go forward. As it was our first match of the tournament, the tension was high, but I think we were able to keep our composure and control the game. We will continue to give our best to prepare ourselves ahead of the next game against Chinese Taipei. Vamos!

FP #6 YOSHIKAWA Tomoki (Nagoya Oceans)
Although we won by a score of 4-0, it was a very tough match. Faced with a physically strong team, we tried to overwhelm them with our speed and agility, but there was still plenty of room for improvement. The fact that we were ablet to score four goals while conceding none is a very positive result, and I am certain that this win will help us get better. We want to prepare well ahead of our next match against Chinese Taipei, so that we can display a better performance and win.

FP #8 TSUTSUMI Yuta (Y.S.C.C.Yokohama)
Thank you for your enthusiastic support, despite the match being played in Taiwan. It was a difficult game considering it was our first match of the tournament, but we are very pleased with this result. We hope to make the most of this experience to improve ourselves in our next match against Chinese Taipei. Personally, I hope to play more aggressively and score more goals.

AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ 2024 Qualifiers

Tournament Date: Sat. 7 - Wed. 11 October 2023
Tournament Information