The 20th International Youth Soccer in Niigata 2nd Match vs U-17 Croatia National Team
2016-7-17 (Sun.) - 17:00   Playing Time: 90min. (45min.×2)
SpoIsland Seiro (Seiro Town/Niigata)

U-17 Japan National Team　1-1 (1-1, 0-0)　U-17 Croatia National Team

Scores
3'　Goal against (U-17 Croatia National Team)
20'　HORI Kenta (U-17 Japan National Team)

Line-ups
GK: SARUTA Haruki
DF: NAKAGAWA Sou, AOYAMA Yusuke, ISHIHARA Hirokazu, FUJIMATSU Kouya
MF: IZAWA Haruki, MURATA Masaki, FUJIMOTO Kanya, HORI Kenta
FW: NAKAJIMA Motohiko, TAGAWA Kyosuke

Substitutes
GK: WAKAHARA Tomoya
DF: IRUMAGAWA Keita, HIYAMA Yuya
MF: KOBAYASHI Mao, WATAI Masaki, SENBA Taishi
FW: TSUBAKI Naoki

51'　FUJIMOTO Kanya → TSUBAKI Naoki
75'　IZAWA Haruki → KOBAYASHI Mao
75'　FUJIMATSU Kouya → IRUMAGAWA Keita
88'　MURATA Masaki → WATAI Masaki

Match Report

The U-17 Japan National Team had their second match against the U-17 Croatia National Team at 17:00 on 17 July at SpoIsland Seiro.

Croatia beat the U-17 Niigata Selection 2-1 on previous day and the team is in the same position as Japan with 3 points; this match decided which team would be on top of the competition. From the beginning of the 1st half, Croatia showed their playing style by counter attacking after blocking Japan.

In the 3rd minute, Croatia picked up the loose ball made by Japan’s long pass and faced Japan’s goalkeeper SARUTA. The Croatian player settled scored; Japan conceded the opening goal very early in the match. Croatia continued to build their defence in the middle and Japan couldn’t move the ball to the front.

In the 20th minute, Japan got a free kick, midfielder HORI Kenta successfully smashed the shot directly to the right corner of the goal. Japan continued to deal with the lower defence, making mid-range shots, but they couldn’t score and the 1st half ended 1-1.

Japan kicked off the 2nd half with the same starting eleven but could not break through the Croatia’s blocking defence.

Japan tried to move the ball up front through forward player TAGAWA Kyosuke’s moving to a spot behind defenders, or with speedy dribbling by another forward TSUBAKI Naoki who was brought on later, but could not make any chances to take a shot. The match didn’t move, Japan brought on players with different characteristics but could not break through the Croatia’s block of defence and drew the match 1-1.

Tomorrow Japan will play their third match against the U-17 Niigata Selection at 15:30 at Denka Big Swan Stadium.

Players' Comments

DF #5  FUJIMATSU Kouya (Sagan Tosu U-18)
Today I was the one who was broken through by Croatia and conceded the goal; this was the most regretful thing of today. It was good that we could overlap by moving a lot. However, we made simple mistakes such as losing control so we will improve these issues for the next match.

I have understood what I have to aim for in future, this is the thing I have found in this camp. My teammates are my rivals once we go back to our own teams and if we compete against each other for the limited number of squad members, I can improve my skill as a player. I will do my best to be called up, making efforts to improve my issues which I have found during this camp.

DF #4  AOYAMA Yusuke (Nagoya Grampus U18)
As a team we couldn’t kick off in a good way and conceded the opening goal in the beginning. However, we could equalised by the free kick, and were able to keep our level of play by controlling lines and making compact formations. In the 2nd half we had more time to keep the ball and could take control, but we couldn’t score in the end and allowed them to steal the ball and counter attack; these are our issues.

Tomorrow, it will be the last match so we will stick to the victory, taking control by holding the ball and making compact formation; we want to keep ourselves united in both offence and defence. This team will end after the match tomorrow, so we will do our best to finish tomorrow with the title.

MF #12  WATAI Masaki (Shizuoka Gakuen High School)
This is my second experience as a squad member, and I have been able to have good training with quality just like last time. Through the training and matches, I could find what are missing and what are good as a squad member. I had limited time to play in the both yesterday’s and today’s matches, but if I can change the mood and be involved in goals, I think I can lead the team to win. Tomorrow, if I have any chance to play on the pitch, I want to maximise my strength and aim at the goal to contribute to the team’s victory.

Schedule

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