A new international championship “the U-16 International Dream Cup 2015 JAPAN Presented by JFA” will be held in Osaka from 24 June. One of the strongest teams from each continent, namely Chile, Costa Rica, and France, will participate in this very first championship. Following yesterday’s article, which introduced Japan and Chile, we will now introduce France and Costa Rica along with the head coaches’ comments.

U-16 France National Team

Paul Pogba in the France National Team has really streaked ahead. Although he is still young, he fulfils a main role in both the national team and the club team. He must be particularly admired by the younger players, who have come to Japan this time. The participating players are from the youth teams of big club teams in Europe, as well as the ones in the domestic leagues, such as the Paris Saint-Germain, Lyonnais and Toulouse. France has an excellent youth development system and we can expect high-quality from the U-16 France National Team.

U-16 Costa Rica National Team

Costa Rica, who got through to the knockout stage despite a lack of expectation prior to the FIFA World Cup in Brazil last year, have arrived in Japan from North Central America. Saprissa might remind you of Costa Rica, if you watched the FIFA Club World Cup. Saprissa, who participated in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2005 as the North Central American champions and came in third, is one of the biggest club teams in Costa Rica. Many participating players in this championship are from the youth team of Saprissa. 

The U-16 International Dream Cup 2015 JAPAN Presented by JFA will kick-off on 24 June.
Every match of this championship will be free of charge.

Head Coaches' Comments

GUYOT Laurent, Head Coach (U-16 France National Team)
I’m honoured to participate in the U-16 International Dream Cup 2015 JAPAN with the U-16 France National Team. It will be our last activity as the national team this season. Following consultation among the staff, we decided to bring the best players to take part in this championship, getting ready for the coming qualifying round of the European Football Championship.

It is a great opportunity for us to play against Chile and Costa Rica, against whom we seldom play. We also look forward to once again facing Japan, against whom we played in the Val-de-Marne U-16 International Friendly Tournament in Creteil, France last October.

It was a very tough match and we managed to level the game 3-3 just before the last whistle. We were impressed by the high quality of Japan’s game. I'd like to say thank you again to all the staff who invited us to the debut of this championship. We’ll play hard, showing high-level skills, so that we can contribute to the success of the championship.

SALOMON Cristian Gonzalo, Head Coach (U-16 Costa Rica National Team)
It’s pleasure for the U-16 Costa Rica National Team to participate in this high-level championship. Also I’m very proud of visiting such a beautiful country. I look forward to this championship, as it’s a very good opportunity for the young players to develop themselves. We’d like to get ourselves ready for the championship.

Schedule

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

Future Schedule