Final　vs　U-15 Slovenia National Team
2016-5-1 (Sun.) - 18:00   Playing Time: 70min. (35min.×2)
Gradisca (Italy)

U-15 Japan National Team   1-2 (0-1, 1-1)   U-15 Slovenia National Team　

Scores
34'   Goal against (U-15 Slovenia National Team)
42'   Goal against (U-15 Slovenia National Team)
61'   KURIHARA Ibrahim Junior (U-15 Japan National Team)

Line-ups
GK: TAKAYAMA Shioki
DF: IWAI Ryuji, NISHIO Ryuya, KANO Kanato, INOUE Miki
MF: SEHATA Gijo, MESHINO Soma, MATSUMOTO Nagi, YAMAMOTO Rihito
FW: NISHIKAWA Jun, BROWNE Noah Kenshin

Substitutes
GK: SUZUKI Zion
DF: KUMADA Shuto, YAMASAKI Taichi, ISHIDA Ryotaro, ENDO Kaito
MF: YAMADA Fuki, ODA Yutaro
FW: YAMAZAKI Ryosuke, KURIHARA Ibrahim Junior

HT   BROWNE Noah Kenshin → KURIHARA Ibrahim Junior
43'   INOUE Miki → YAMASAKI Taichi
50'   YAMAMOTO Rihito → ODA Yutaro
59'   KANO Kanato → YAMAZAKI Ryosuke

Match Report

The ending of the 13th Delle Nazioni Tournament on Sunday 1 May saw U-15 Japan National Team fell short at the final, losing 2-1 against Slovenia and finishing the tournament at second place.

It was the first final appearance of this tournament for Japan in three years. Replacing four starters after the semi-final, early in the match Japan failed to show aggressiveness and up-tempo ball movement as they did in the previous match. That was partly due to Japanese players being unable to adjust to a European pitch whose grass is a little more tiring to run on. 

Then in the 5th minute, the opponents fired a shot from long distance on a counter-attack. Goalkeeper TAKAYAMA Shioki managed to stop it and another shot off the rebounding ball went barely off target. Japan started to gain composure and create chances by attacking behind the opposing defenders. 

In the 8th minute, forward NISHIKAWA Jun sent a cross, which midfielder YAMAMOTO Rihito met only to see it miss the goal. In the 24th minute, Japan had one of the biggest chances of the day when the ball moved through several players for a through ball to Nishikawa, who passed by one defender to go 1-on-1 against the goalkeeper. However, the goalkeeper made an impressive save to deny the attempt. 

Then in the 34th minute, Japan conceded the regrettable opening goal to the opponents. After Japan lost the ball in their end from their own passing mistake, Slovenia took the ball to the left for a shot to find the back of the net. The first half ended with Slovenia’s one goal lead.

While Japan came out more aggressively in the second half, the opponents’compact defensive bloc and intensity on the ball prevented Japan from producing opportunities. What made matters worse, in the 52nd minute, Slovenia’s fierce long-range strike from the left put them up two goals.

Just as the semi-final, however, Japan showed their resilient come-back efforts from there. In the 61st minute, forward YAMAZAKI Ryosuke went up on the left flank to feed a cross, which forward KURIHARA Ibrahim Junior beautifully left-footed into the goal to cut the deficit down to one. Japan kept attacking after that including Yamazaki’s attempt off a corner-kick one minute into the additional time. But Japan could not score any more before the match ended with Slovenia’s 2-1 win.

As a result, Japan finished the tournament with 4 wins and 1 loss, narrowly missing the championship. These U-15 National team, as well as “00 Japan”, keep aiming at the AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 to be held in September.

"00 JAPAN" is the nickname of the U-16 Japan National Team that consists of members who were born after 2000.

Coach and Players' Comments

MORIYAMA Yoshiro, Coach
I came out for this final match against Slovenia together with my players, being pleased and thankful for this opportunity to play football at this great stage. When we were getting our pace, we allowed a goal from a defenders’ careless horizontal pass and put ourselves one goal behind. Early in the second half, we let the opponents attack after our defensive mistake and gave away the second goal. 

At our chances we couldn’t spend enough time for a shot and we misfired some good shots, and we as a result couldn’t find the back of the net. On the other hand, they didn’t miss their limited chances and struck simple and strong shots with a few touches to score. It’s easy to explain, but I felt the obvious difference in the kicking strength. Late in the second half, we scored one back, and had another good chance in the additional time. But we let their goalkeeper take away the ball on the goal line and the match was over. Most of our players broke down in tears.

Some of the areas we couldn’t do well were defending against powerful and thrusting opponents, passing and controlling the ball with high quality and good intention even on a bumpy pitch, kicking strong balls and making shots with high percentage. I want these players to improve faster than before by remembering this disappointing result and such missed assignments here and reorganising their daily workouts with their own team. 

This national team showed some toughness, too, including the first match against Norway where we scored the match-winning goal in the additional time, moving out of the group league with three wins in a row, and coming back from two goals down and winning after the penalty shootout in the semi-final against Russia. This was a first team activity for this generational team, but the atmosphere was already good. The players showed good skills, agility, stamina and collectivity and all those things are a good sign of potential this generation of Japan possesses. I really expect that their development will be de driving force of the U-16 National Team in September’s AFC U-16 Championship India 2016. 

YAMASAKI Taichi (Sanfrecce Hiroshima Youth)
After getting on the pitch in the second half, I think I could start off well, compared to what I did against Mexico. I left myself with a big homework when I failed to score the last chance. Not being able to win the championship is very disappointing, but this tournament had a lot for me to learn. In today’s match, I could play accordingly to each situation, and my strength of making long feeds into the space behind defenders created several chances for my team. But overall quality isn’t high enough, and I still can’t make good enough predictions to get the ball from the opponents. I was with this team as a captain. My teammates were very cheerful and we could play every match with a great mood among the team. We had the attitude that we never gave up until the end, and we all made efforts for this second place. After I go back to my own club, I want to get as much playing time as possible at the Prince Takamado Trophy U-18 League and keep working on what I couldn’t do well in this tournament. 

MATSUMOTO Nagi (Cerezo Osaka U-15)
We allowed goals from our mistakes, and the end result turned out to be disappointing. But even after we allowed goals, we kept talking to each other and kept playing until the end. I personally couldn’t do well in the areas of playing on the ball, quality of the pass leading to shots, and making good decisions. I want to remember this disappointment and keep working hard with my teammates. This teams are mentally resilient and a good team that can fight through to the end. 

Schedule

*Local time
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.