One day after they recorded the 1-0 win against Qatar Futsal National Team in the first group stage match of the AFC Futsal Championship, every player on Japan Futsal National Team engaged in recovery stretching after breakfast. The squad were given free time after that when they all spent on their own to remove fatigue both mentally and physically. Some of the activities witnessed included taking a walk from hotel to a nearby market, jogging around the hotel, and working out in a gym.

No team training was scheduled in the afternoon, either, to fully rest themselves, even though a film session was held where the match of the previous day was analysed. The team is well aware of the fact that getting rest effectively between matches and maintaining favourable conditioning is one of the key in this tournament where matches are held with only one day in between.

Players' Comments

#8  TAKITA Manabu (PESCADOLA MACHIDA)
Today, we altogether did stretching for recovery and a walk around in the city, which allowed as to refresh ourselves. Yesterday’s match was the first one in the tournament, and we had a hard time to show our brand of futsal. But I think we played well enough to win through the match. Personally, I have a lot of things to review and correct, but I will reorganise my mindset and mental approach and keep working positively as one of Japanese representatives toward good results.

#1  SEKIGUCHI Yushi (ESPOLADA HOKKAIDO)
We had a long stretch in yesterday’s match where we struggled, but we managed to get the win and I am very happy. In the first match of the tournament, getting a good end result is more important than anything else. So it was great that we made sure to get three points.

I think we owe yesterday’s win to all the support from Japanese people in this local city, those who came all the way here from Japan to support us, and those who send cheers from Japan. I expect we will keep having tough matches, but we will do our very best to get the ticket to the World Cup and the third consecutive AFC Championship title. So I would like that enthusiastic support to keep coming.

#4  SAKAI Rafael Yoshio (NAGOYA OCEANS)
Yesterday’s match was a tough one, but I am glad that we came out with a win. It was the first match of the tournament, so I thought grabbing a win was the first priority. Today we had stretching in the morning, and then took a walk in a city in Uzbekistan. I think it worked well as a good break. Tomorrow we will reset our mindset and get back to the preparation work for another important match.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Schedule

*Local Time
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.
*Top five team will earn FIFA Futsal World Cup Colombia 2016™ (2016/9/10-10/1) berth

AFC Futsal Championship Uzbekistan 2016 [Wed. 10 February - Sun. 21 February 2016]

Group Stage 2nd Match
Sat. 13 February　Kick Off at 16:30 (20:30 Japan Time)
vs  Malaysia Futsal National Team
LIVE: Sat. 13 February 20:20- NHK-BS1
Prerecorded: Sun. 14 February 17:00- CS TV Asahi Ch2

More information