Sun. 13 September
U-15 Japan National Team, dubbed “00 Japan,” had two-a-day practice in the eighth day of their training as they did on the previous day. Under a hot, dry weather, the players trained with concentration at National Garden Pitch, where they will take on Mongolia.

They started with a 4-on-2 passing drill, and then spent the time some menus to pay attention to their defence, such as a 8-on-8 and 7-on-7 including the goalkeepers. Because there were some cases that they allowed goals as they were slow to switch to their defence during their past trips, they checked their transition speed between their offence and defence. Elsewhere, for the players who didn't play physically enough, perhaps due to their fatigue, were scalded by their staff repeatedly and harshly.

The temperature got to as high as 32 degrees in the afternoon while the air was dry, they increased the number of taking water timeouts. But even in that environment, they players raised their focus even higher compared in the morning, and showed so many physical plays in their 5-on-3 cross-shot practice, in which the goalkeepers were involved.

Mon. 14 September
On the ninth day, the team had a practice just in the morning. Assuming game situations, they worked on menus around their set plays. They simulated so many different situations like corner kicks and free kicks, while their staff strictly pointed out their positioning. The players were eventually able to show some occasions that they tried to find ways to attack thinking on their own.

During a meeting at night, they watched a video of a former Japan National Team player NAKAZAWA Yuji. They shared the process that Nakazawa wasn't selected when he was of developmental generations but kept working on fundamental practices and eventually became a can't-miss man for the national team, having made steady effort.

The 00JAPAN will have a news conference and official practice session tomorrow one day before their first match.

* ”00 JAPAN” is the nickname of the U-15 Japan National Team that consists of members who were born after 2000.

Players' Comments

GK   TAKADA Yuma (Higashiyama High School)
I trained around my physical parts because of my injuries at the training camp in Sugadaira, but it paid off as I got to train the core of my body. After we entered Mongolia, we've been pushing ourselves in two-a-day trainings, and my condition as well as my injuries have improved a lot.

We have two more days till the game, and our team's mood is getting better day in and day out, so we would like to have good preparation even more. I want to be stick to every and every play I will have, and inspire the team from behind as the goalkeeper.

DF   KEMMOTSU Takumu (Shimizu S-Pulse Junior Youth)
The mood of our team is great as it's so united. But we still have some issues like our preparation for practices are slow, so we would like to improve that. Individually, I occasionally have moments that I don't have enough tenacities before the goal and get passive in passing, so I want to have the mind-set to not let opponents have their shots playing more physically.

Also, I want to give my team more chances with my long passes, which is my strength. I want to have confidence in each play, and do my best to not give opponents rooms to attack on us.

FW   NAKAMURA Keito (Mitsubishi Yowa SC Sugamo Junior Youth)
I struggled with the altitude and got tired so easily during the training camp in Sugadaira, but since we got to Mongolia, my condition has been very good and I think that our high-altitude training has paid off. The two-a-day training for the two days were hard, while the contents of the training were very meaningful, so it's been fulfilling.

AFC U-16 Championship 2016 Qualifiers will begin from the day after tomorrow, so we want to keep our mood and do our best with moderate tension tomorrow, too. Individually, I want to come up with a result by scoring a goal.

Schedule

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