2015 "Changan Ford Cup" CFA International Youth Football Tournament Qingdao
2nd Match  vs  U-18 China PR National Team
2015-9-9 (Wed.) - 19:35   Playing Time: 90min. (45min.×2)
Qingdao Guoxin Stadium (Qingdao, China)

U-18 China PR National Team   1-0 (0-0, 1-0)   U-18 Japan National Team

Scores
68'   Goal against (U-18 China PR National Team)

Line-ups
GK: WAKINO Atsushi
DF: IWATA Tomoki, OKANO Jun, TOMIYASU Takehiro, URATA Itsuki
MF: MIYOSHI Koji, SUZUKI Tokuma, MORISHIMA Tsukasa, TAKAGI Akito
FW: ICHIMI Kazunari, IWASAKI Yuto

Substitutes
GK: KOJIMA Ryosuke
DF: FUJITANI So, NODA Hiroki, MACHIDA Koki, FUNAKI Kakeru
MF: DOAN Ritsu, SAKAI Daisuke, SASAKI Takumi, NAGANUMA Yoichi
FW: YOSHIHIRA Tsubasa, OGAWA Koki

64'   MIYOSHI Koji → YOSHIHIRA Tsubasa
75'   ICHIMI Kazunari → OGAWA Koki
75'   MORISHIMA Tsukasa → DOAN Ritsu
86'   OKANO Jun → MACHIDA Koki

Match Report

Japan's second match of the tournament was against China, whom Japan faced in the Panda Cup in June.

Japan reshuffled the starters from the opening match.

In the first half, China did not put pressure up front and stayed in their end. Japan had time passing the ball around, but there were a lot of mistiming in running and mistakes in passing. They were not able to create a clear-cut chance before entering the break with 0-0.

In the second half, China did not break up their defensive formation and tried to play on counterattacks by tempting Japan's mistakes. Japan also tried to lessen mistakes in passing and looked for side attacks repeatedly to create shooting chances. Yet they were unable to score.

Then in the 68th minute, Japan gave away the ball from a throw-in and allowed the opponents to attack. They fled to a corner kick once but ended up conceding the opening goal through a header in the box from the corner kick. Japan continued to attack in attempt to come back on level terms but had a hard time converting their efforts into a goal.

In the 77th minute, an opponent was sent off for a rough play. Although Japan spent their time in an outnumbered situation, the score remained unchanged until the end. Japan failed to finish their second contest of the tournament with a victory. If Japan win their third match, however, they still have a chance to win the championship. The Japanese players will refresh their mind and get ready for the match on 11th.

Players' Comments

WAKINO Atsushi (Higashi Fukuoka High School)
The opponents China stayed back in their end from the early stage of the match, so we were struggling to create shooting chances. Even when we had a chance to shoot, accuracy of our final passes and plays were poor, and we weren't able to score a goal. 

In the second half, we had some stretches attacking in their end, but the opponents headed home a corner kick for the game's opener. We allowed them to take advantage of the mere chance they got, and that's what we learned to improve. We need to think more about how to play against a team like today's.

URATA Itsuki (JEF United Chiba)
Today the match was held in a completely away atmosphere. Against the opponents who built a defensive block in such an environment, our final crosses, passes and shots were inaccurate. The goal we gave up also came through our mistake. I felt a sense of urgency on the loss like today, but we still have one more to play. So we will go all out to grab a victory.

MORISHIMA Tsukasa (Yokkaichi Chuo Technical High School)
Today the match ended up in a disappointing loss because of the opponents' one set-piece. We will refresh our mind and capitalise on what we learned today for the next match. We will keep up our work in training resuming tomorrow.

MIYOSHI Koji (Kawasaki Frontale)
In today's match, even though we dominated the possession from the start and had goal-scoring opportunities, we weren't capable of converting them into a goal. I have a sense of urgency on that. We still have the next so will work together as a team to definitely finish the tournament with a win.

Schedule