The 44th Toulon Tournament vs U-20 Portugal National Team
2016-5-23 (Mon.) - 17:15   Playing Time: 80min. (40min.×2)
Stade De Lattre (Aubagne/France)

U-23 Japan National Team　0-1 (0-1, 0-0)　U-20 Portugal National Team

Scores
22'　Goal against (U-20 Portugal National Team)

Line-ups
GK: NAKAMURA Kosuke
DF: MITSUMARU Hiromu, UEDA Naomichi, MIURA Genta, VAN WERMESKERKEN Sai
MF: YAJIMA Shinya, OHSHIMA Ryota, IDEGUCHI Yosuke, MINAMINO Takumi
FW: ASANO Takuma, ONAIWU Ado

Substitutes
GK: KUSHIBIKI Masatoshi
MF: HARAKAWA Riki, KIDA Takuya, MAEDA Naoki, NOTSUDA Gakuto
FW: TOGASHI Cayman, KAMADA Daichi

HT　YAJIMA Shinya → NOTSUDA Gakuto
64'　ONAIWU Ado → TOGASHI Cayman
70'　ASANO Takuma → KAMADA Daichi
80+２'　IDEGUCHI Yosuke → MAEDA Naoki

Match Report

The U-23 Japan National Team have not failed yet.

Monday 23 May saw the sixth day of the 44th Toulon Tournament, and the U-23 Japan National Team met Portugal at 17:15 local time (24:15 Japan Time). As both teams will participate in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the match attracted some attention.

Japan changed seven players in the starting line-up from the match against Paraguay two days before. However, the players displayed well what the team were trying to achieve.

In the first half, they stuck to the strategy with long-distance balls, thinking of the wind direction. They waited for an opportunity to use combinations.

In the 22nd minute, however, Portugal got through with their combination and struck the opener. After 33 minutes, Japan attacked back. ONAIWU Ado, YAJIMA Shinya, and ASANO Takuma coordinated off a pass from OHSHIMA Ryota, and ASANO fired a shot with his left foot after a sharp turn, only for it to hit the crossbar.

In the second half, with the wind behind them, Japan pressed Portugal to stay in their area. Just after the second half started, in the 42nd minute (40-minute halves), OHSHIMA, who ran towards the right side of the penalty area, reacted to a difficult floating pass and sent it to the goal with one-touch. Although NOTSUDA Gakuto, who came off the bench, took a shot close from the goal with his left foot, it went wide.

Japan continued to create more opportunities. After 57 minutes, UEDA Naomichi went close with a header from the right corner, but the opponent’s goalkeeper saved it superbly. Then in the 54th minute, though MINAMINO Takumi reacted with a header to a cross from MITSUMARU Hiromu, he could not find the back of the net.

In the 55th minute, ASANO reacted well to a long-distance ball from VAN WERMESKERKEN Sai. He got through the opponent’s defender to take a shot, but unfortunately it was not on target. After 63 minutes, as soon as MITSUMARU’s cross hit the defender in front of the goal, NOTSUDA took a shot with his left foot. However, it went slightly wide.

The coach TEGURAMORI Makoto sent TOGASHI Cayman to replace ONAIWU in the 64th minute, and KAMADA Daichi to substitute ASANO in the 70th minute. Just before the final whistle of the second half, MAEDA Naoki replaced IDEGUCHI Yosuke to increase attackers. Although Japan continued to ‘attack aggressively’, which was not shown in their first game against Paraguay, they lost the game 1-0.

It was the very first time for a team under the coach TEGURAMORI to lose two consecutive official games. However, the team learned a lot through their losses.

The players refreshed themselves quickly in preparation for their third match against Guinea on Wednesday 25 May.

Coach and Players' Comments

TEGURAMORI Makoto, Coach
The players displayed their intelligence much more than in their first game. They played collectively until the end, judging well whether to use a long-distance ball or pass the ball around, while playing carefully. Despite their lack of aggression up front in the first game, they showed their strong focus on the goal today. I told the players that I was satisfied with their performance, even though we lost. The result gives us a lot of ambition.

GK #12  NAKAMURA Kosuke (Kashiwa Reysol)
Portugal scored through their limited goal-scoring opportunities, while we couldn’t find the back of the net despite numerous chances. Although we defended well as a team, I conceded a goal myself. Especially in the second half, I didn’t have much opportunity to defend and I’m not satisfied with my performance. It wasn’t great.

DF #13  MITSUMARU Hiromu (Sagan Tosu)
I couldn’t follow the opponent’s dribbling rhythm enough. So I need to think more about the distance between the opponent and how to use my body. In terms of attacks, I simply sent crosses. Despite the quantity, the quality wasn’t there yet.

MF #17  IDEGUCHI Yosuke (Gamba Osaka)
I struggled in the first half due to the wind direction. As a team, we kicked the ball forward, focusing on reacting to loose balls. It’s difficult to say, but we could have avoided conceding a goal for sure, if I had given up the vital area when OHSHIMA ran towards the ball carrier. I’d like to fix and improve in the area of ‘challenging & covering’. Personally, I want to reduce careless mistakes as much as possible, in order to contribute to attacks, as well as defence.

Schedule

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