U-16 Japan Women's National Team, who will participate in the coming AFC U-16 Women's Championship, arrived in the host country China PR. The team left Japan in the late afternoon and arrived in Wuhan after approximately five hours to get themselves ready for their first match against Uzbekistan on Thursday 5 November.

On Monday 2 November, the players held the first practice session in China PR, starting with some jogging. They focused on recovering from their flight. After some jogging and passing the ball around, they finished the session with 10 sets of 100-metre round running.

In the afternoon, they started by passing the ball around, followed by practicing of some basic skills, such as passing and controlling, and finished the session with a mini game.

U-16 Japan Women's National Team aim to book a place in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Jordan 2016, and are also focusing on becoming back-to-back champions in the AFC U-16 Women's Championship. Only the two top teams in the championship can make it to the World Cup.

Japan will meet Uzbekistan, Chinese Taipei, and Korea DPR in the group stage. The semi-final will be held on 12 November and the final will be on 15 November.

Players' Comments

ONO Nana (Nippon TV Menina)
In the first training session in China PR, we practiced passing and did some jogging this morning in order to get used to the pitch. It was good that we stayed vocal to encourage each other during the tough running session. In the afternoon, we focused on keeping possession, and shared among the team how to steal the ball, as well as how to switch swiftly after being intercepted. We have limited time before the match. So I’ll focus on each practice session, getting ourselves prepared enough for the game.

TAKARADA Saori (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies)
We arrived at the hotel at 10 pm last night, and had a meal just before going to bed. We ran a lot to work out this morning, and practice more tactics, including passing the ball and keeping possession, this afternoon. As we have only three days before the first game, I’ll focus even more to get myself in good condition.

MIURA Haruka (Urawa Reds Ladies Youth)
The environment, including the meals and the pitch condition, is different in China PR. We need to acclimatise ourselves and get used to the pitches here to play well in the games. I’d like to continue to concentrate in the remaining sessions, so that we can get a good result.

KANEHIRA Risa (Hinomoto Gakuen Senior High School)
We have been in China PR for two days now. In terms of the trip, many things, such as a different system at the airport, surprised me a lot. In the morning, we focused on getting ourselves into good physical condition after the flight. In the afternoon, we practiced passing the ball around and keeping possession. With only three days to go before the first match, I’d like to refresh my mind and stay focused in practice sessions in order to win the championship.

Schedule

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

AFC U-16 Women’s Championship China 2015 

Japan is in Group B. Group A includes Chaina PR, Thailand, Iran, Korea Republic.
Top two teams will qualify for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Jordan 2016.