The Japan’s Olympic squad began training on Monday 1 August for their opening match in Manaus, a city in the northern part of Brazil.

With an eye to the late kick-off time, their training session started at a little past 7 p.m., later than their past sessions. Three backup players, forward SUZUKI Musashi, midfielder NOTSUDA Gakuto (both from Albirex Niigata), and defender NAKATANI Shinnosuke (Kashiwa Reysol), joined the team. They worked out separately with running and stretching.

Meanwhile, in the climate that is reminiscent of Japan's summer with higher humidity than in Aracaju and Goiânia. the team deliberately undertook running, sprinting and stretching exercises. Furthermore, they focused on pace and accuracy in ball-passing drills with limited touches. Lastly, they went through build-up practice from the defensive line.

After getting to Manaus, "we want to play as soon as possible," said coach TEGURAMORI Makoto. "It's hot but comfortable at night. Our players have recovered with one day off. With this cool temperature and the fact that the match is held at night, Japan are getting sharper. I told them to get themselves in the mood (of the tournament)."

Defender UEDA Naomichi (Kashima Antlers) added (in regards to the hot temperature), "it's not very different from Japan. With a little more preparation, everyone is going to be perfect." Goalkeeper KUSHIBIKI Masatoshi (Kashima Antlers) also noted, "it's even harder to practise in the daytime of Japan."

"It’s cooler than in Japan," backup player Suzuki expressed his enthusiasm. "If I get a chance, what’s best for me is to fully show my strength and contribute to the team."

Similarly, the team will hold training sessions at 7 p.m. on Tuesday 2 and Wednesday 3, respectively, to get ready for the match against Nigeria on Thursday 4.

Japan will meet Nigeria and Colombia in Manaus and Sweden in Salvador in Group B.

Coach and Players' Comments

TEGURAMORI Makoto, Coach
I gave them feedback from the Brazil match. Only when everything is ready, we will have a chance to win against Brazil. We weren't ready yet at that time, and that match made us realise a lot of things. I incorporated some of those issues into training today. Watching the Brazil match, maybe our opponents think Japan can only stay in defence and can't attack. But our defence should be getting stronger than what we showed in the match, and offence is also going to be more powerful. In the following three days, we will try to improve the collectivity before the match against Nigeria. Today the players got their sharpness back (got back in shape). We now have an environment to ensure team collaboration along with pressing intensity. So, I hope we can improve on our timing and pace and play at a better tempo in the game.

DF #5  UEDA Naomichi (Kashima Antlers)
We had a meeting on the Brazil match and defensive players talked to each other about how to improve the defensive line. And as a team, we are talking like "why don’t we try this way?” I hope we can make good use of these discussions for the next game. I've always wanted to play against Brazil in the Olympics. In the final Olympic qualifiers, we got revenge against opponents who we would always lose to. So with this loss in our books, I hope we can pay back in the Olympics.

MF #18  MINAMINO Takumi (Salzburg/ Austria)
It's much hotter and more humid here than in Goiânia. I felt exhausted after practice today and we need to get used to it prior to the tournament. Whether we can get through the group stage is dependent on the first match. Everyone on the team is aware of its importance. We will try to get well-prepared for the first match.

MF #14  IDEGUCHI Yosuke (Gamba Osaka)
Coming to the city where we actually play the opening two matches, training, and experiencing high humidity and hot temperature, I felt like "we finally came to Brazil." This hot temperature is similar to Osaka, so I want to play just as I did in the J.League. In the Brazil match, we were able to experience the level of the title contender before the tournament. Our coach also told us to add the Brazilian style of passing and positioning to the Japanese strength. So we hope to incorporate as such. 

Schedule

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