The U-15 Japan National Team held two practice sessions on the fourth day of their Indonesia tour. Moriyama Yoshiro, the head coach, started the session with some encouraging words, saying: ’we must learn from yesterday’s defeat what needs to be done and what are our tasks. Let’s win tomorrow’s match mentally as well.’ As the players struggled with pressure from the opponent on the muddy pitch yesterday, in the morning they focused on one-on-one close competitive play. The players responded as much as possible to the staff’s strong requests about how to press the opponent and how to steal the ball. Although some players had to leave in bad shape or because of injuries, others got used to the condition of the pitch and stayed vocal to communicate with each other, which made all the difference compared with yesterday’s game. They finished their morning session with an 11-a-side practice match to try out some tactics. They stopped for a moment whenever there was any problem and deepened their partnerships with each other.

In the afternoon, the players did some four-on-two and four-on-three attacking and defending practice in front of the goal. It seemed to be a productive session, in which the players shared and used each other’s skills.

In the evening meeting, Kimura Kokichi, the Youth Development Director, told them many things, including his expectation for the players, their current issues and about his experience in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualification, which was held the other day. In the end they watched the shooting videos of Messi (FC Barcelona) and Muller (FC Bayern Munich) in order to review the way they strike goals and their positioning.

’00 JAPAN’, who lost yesterday’s match, will have another opportunity to avenge the defeat against the Indonesia national football team tomorrow.

Note: “00 Japan” is the nickname of the team led by players born in 2000. The team aim to compete at the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

Comments From Players

DF ARAI Hideaki（Kawasaki Frontale U-18）
I’m very pleased that I joined the team again. As it’s my second opportunity, I have been doing my best since the first day. Having said that, I allowed the opponent’s fast players to use the space behind us numerous times yesterday. I definitely want to win tomorrow’s game. Personally, I’d like to create many attacking opportunities by initiating attack from the wings.

DF KUDO Aoi（Vegalta Sendai Junior Youth）
It is my first tour abroad and I’ve learned a lot by playing in this environment, which I can never experience in Japan. I gradually got used to the environment, the climate, and the condition of pitches. Yesterday we played against Indonesia. We learned to press hard even on a muddy pitch and to respond carefully to any fast players. As we practiced today, I’d like to focus on solid pressure in defence and earning some time to wait for my teammates when I’m at a numerical disadvantage. I’d like to win the next match, showing what we have learned.

Schedule

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

Future Schedule