AFC U-16 Championship Thailand  B group　Group League 1st Round
Saturday 6 September  16:00 Kick Off 90minutes(45minutes halves)
Rajamangala Stadium　(Thailand／Bangkok）

U-16 Japan National Team　2 - 0(1st 0-0、2nd 2-0)　U-16 Hongkong National TEam

Scores
53min　DOAN Ritsu（U-16 Japan National Team）
73min　SUGA Daiki（U-16 Japan National Team）

Startes
GK：TSURUTA Kaito
DF：TANAKA Kosuke、ASADA Shogo、SHIMOGUCHI Wakaba、DOAN Ritsu
MF：FUJIMOTO Kanya、YOSHIDA Shun、TANAKA Ao
FW：SASAKI Takumi、HANYA Yosuke、YASUI Takuya

Substitutes
GK：INOUE Seiya、CHIDA Keito
DF：MORIOKA Riku、ABE Masashi、TOMIYASU Takehiro、ISHIKAWA Hiroto
MF：NAGASAWA Ryosuke、SUGA Daiki、WATANABE Kouta
FW：ONOZAWA Toshiki、SUGIURA Fumiya、WATANABE Yo

59min　TANAKA Ao → SUGA Daiki
55min　HANYA Yosuke → ONOZAWA Toshiki
75min　YASUI Takuya → WATANABE Yo

Match Report

98JAPAN, the U-16 Japan National Team, which is aiming at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile next October, started their matches at the AFC U-16 Championship. Their first goal is to get through the qualifying round and advance to the quarterfinals. Their first game was against the U-16 Hong Kong national team. Although Japan, who did not seem to be relaxed enough, kept possession from the beginning, they could not find the opportunities to shoot. After 10 minutes, it became really difficult for them to play their style - passing football - since it started raining very heavily. Japan could not find the back of the net with their only goal-scoring opportunity and the game went into the second half at 0-0. In the second half, they adjusted the passing tempo and pressed the opponent even more. In the 53th minute, Tanaka Ao received the ball from the right wing in the left side of the centre and passed a through ball to Doan, who ran forward at top speed through the left wing. Doan struck a superb opener, putting his body between the defenders. After 73 minutes, Sasaki earned a foul near the centre of the goal and Suga, who came off the bench, scored beautifully through a free kick in the left-hand corner of the net, building a two-goal lead. Japan could not add any more goals with their remaining goal-scoring opportunities and won the game 2-0. They had a good start in this championship, winning the first match, even though they were not relaxed enough. The next match will be their second game in the group stage against the U-16 China national team on Monday 8 September.

Comments

YOSHITAKE Hirofumi, Head Coach
As it was our first match, the players seemed to be a little nervous and didn’t work properly as a team. We should be proud that we gained three points without conceding a goal, though. I’d like them to improve some things - how to play in the rain, how to play against a team with eight or nine players defending the goal, and how to continue when the score becomes 2-0. In the rest of the championship I’d also like them to get the experience of seeing the game in its entirety while playing. All of us will perform better than today in the next game, which is our preparation stage for the last match in this league.

DOAN Ritsu（Gamba Osaka Youth）
Although we weren’t relaxed enough at the first match of this championship, we gradually picked up our pace as the game went on. I’m really relieved we won the game. We became more vocal and relaxed from the middle of the game. I expect to be pressed from the frontline in the next match against China, but I’d like to stick to Japanese-style football.

SUGA Daiki（Consadole Sapporo U-18）
I came off the bench in the middle of the game, but I’m very happy that I scored through the free kick. Although I missed some during the practice session, I could concentrate on the kick and got the result. There is a good atmosphere around the team. As there are some more issues, I’d like to fix those with other players in the match. I’d like to win each game ahead of us, so that we can go to the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile.

Schedule