SUWON JS CUP 3rd Match vs U-19 Korea Republic National Team
2016-5-22 (Sun.) - 14:50   Playing Time: 90min. (45min.×2)
Suwon World Cup Stadium (Korea Republic/Suwon)

U-19 Korea Republic National Team　1-0 (0-0, 1-0)　U-19 Japan National Team

Scores
76'　Goal against (U-19 Korea Republic National Team)

Line-ups
GK: HIROSUE Riku
DF: YANAGI Takahiro, OMINAMI Takuma, NAKAYAMA Yuta, FUNAKI Kakeru
MF: TAKAGI Akito, SAKAI Daisuke, ICHIMARU Mizuki, ENDO Keita
FW: DOAN Ritsu, KAKITA Yuki

Substitutes
GK: KOJIMA Ryosuke
DF: KOJIMA Masaya, NODA Hiroki, MACHIDA Koki
MF: SATO Ryo, KAMIYA Yuta, ITO Ryotaro
FW: WADA Masashi, NAKAMURA Shunta

66'　DOAN Ritsu → NAKAMURA Shunta
66'　KAKITA Yuki → WADA Masashi
81'　TAKAGI Akito → ITO Ryotaro
81'　FUNAKI Kakeru → MACHIDA Koki
90'　ICHIMARU Mizuki → KAMIYA Yuta

Match Report

The U-19 Japan National Team took on the host Korea squad in their final game in the SUWON JS CUP.

With the championship at stake, Korea kept kicking long balls from their own defenders to the front line and tried to scoop the loose balls to have their attacks. But Japan defended them with poise, robbed the ball from their collective defence and attacked on the opponents’ territory. Both teams put up good defensive plays, which enabled them to have decisive scoring chances in the first half. The game entered halftime with no goals from both sides.

Both teams played on part against each other in the second half, too, putting up battles in the midfield. While Japan tried to attack from the sides, Korea attempted to vertically feed fast passes and attack on Japan dribbling. In the 76th minute, Japan relayed passed in their own territory and allowed Korea to rob the ball. Korea sent a through pass into the box.

A Korean player ran into the pass while the Japan goalkeeper jumped out of his position, but the former had a timely shot and scored a goal. After that, Japan attacked on the Korea territory from the sides, trying to tie the ballgame. But they weren’t able to score one against Korea’s solid defence and went on to lose 1-0. Japan finished the tournament in the fourth place.

Coach and Players' Comments

UCHIYAMA Atsushi, Coach
We played against France, Brazil and Korea. We came up with a disappointing result in the end, but we could get to know what we could do and what we could not do against the world’s top teams. Our players also realised that one play could alter the result when they play in a game in a tense atmosphere.

For our players, I think that the trip meant something that will give them valuable experience for their football career going forward. So I want them to fully capitalize on what they learned here. I would like to express my appreciation to the clubs that dispatched their own players for us. As the national team, our activity will continue from the next month on, so we would like to have meaningful development toward October’s AFC U-19 Championship.

MF ＃10  SAKAI Daisuke (Oita Trinita)
We ended up not able to win a single game out of the three games we played in this tournament and it’s frustrating. As the team, we had moments that we played aggressively at both ends of the field as we had planned to. But once we made mistakes, we weren’t able to bounce back and we couldn’t keep playing how we wanted to play for the whole 90 minutes. Those were our issues. Individually, I think that I need to approach to our teammates so we can be on the same page better. As the final qualifying is nearing less than half a year and the matchups are set, now we will just have to develop our team further.

FW ＃15  DOAN Ritsu (Gamba Osaka)
Because it was a Japan-Korea game, all of us got in the game with higher motivation. We wound up losing 1-0, but it was the most meaningful game in the tournament. But this should not happen in the final qualifying. Each one of us has to have a sense of urgency and I would like to do the best I can when I go back to my club.

DF ＃19  FUNAKI Kakeru (Cerezo Osaka U-18)
While we had to play in a completely away atmosphere, we possessed the ball better and rotated it with better tempo in the first half. But we will have to put the ball to the men in the middle more. In the second half, Korea came in substituting three players and we gave up a goal from counter attack after we made a mistake.

My individual issue is the quality of my crosses. I thought that I have to work on sending faster passed between the goalkeeper and defenders. We went with two losses and a draw in this tournament. So when I go back to my team, I will have to resolve my issues so I will get called up by the national team again.

MF #8  ITO Ryotaro (Urawa Reds)
I’m extremely happy that I’m here on this trip. I came off the bench in this third game against Korea, but looking from outside, I thought that both teams played in a slower pace and weren’t really able to create scoring opportunities. Entering the second half with no goals from neither side, we had more chances than in the first half, but we lacked accuracy in the box and couldn’t score, and ended up giving up a goal to them from our own mistake.

Personally, we came off the bench as we were down by one goal in the 80th minute, but I think I should have attacked more. In our game against Brazil, I had some good plays, but in this Korea game, I wasn’t able to put up my own game and it left me a sense of frustration. Now I will need to switch my mind and work as hard as I can from my daily practice so I will get called up by the national team again.

Schedule

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