AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016 Group Stage 1st vs U-19 Yemen National Team
2016-10-14 (Fri.)- 16:30 Playing Time: 90min. (45min.×2) 
Bahrain National Stadium (Manama/Bahrain)

U-19 Japan National Team　3-0 (0-0, 3-0)　U-19 Yemen National Team

Scores
47'　OGAWA Koki (U-19 Yemen National Team)
79'　IWASAKI Yuto (U-19 Yemen National Team)
88'　HARA Teruki (U-19 Yemen National Team)

Line-ups
GK: KOJIMA Ryosuke
DF: IWATA Tomoki, TOMIYASU Takehiro, NAKAYAMA Yuta, FUNAKI Kakeru
MF: DOAN Ritsu, KAMIYA Yuta, SAKAI Daisuke, MIYOSHI Koji
FW: OGAWA Koki, KISHIMOTO Takeru

Substitutions
GK: HIROSUE Riku, WAKAHARA Tomoya
DF: FUJITANI So, ITAKURA Kou, MACHIDA Koki, HATSUSE Ryo
MF: ENDO Keita, ICHIMARU Mizuki, HARA Teruki, NAGANUMA Yoichi
FW: IWASAKI Yuto, NAKAMURA Shunta

60'　KISHIMOTO Takeru → IWASAKI Yuto
80'　KAMIYA Yuta → HARA Teruki
84'　MIYOSHI Koji → ENDO Keita

Match Report

The first opponents in the group stage of the AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016 were the U-19 Yemen National Team. While Japan dominated the ball and played with their pace early, possibly because of the pressure of the first match, mistakes in passing and controlling were frequently seen on Japan’s end. As they often failed to create scoring opportunities, the first half ended scoreless with rather unfavourable mood for Japan.

Two minutes after the beginning of the second half, midfielder DOAN Ritsu (Gamba Osaka) was awarded with a free-kick when he got taken down with a foul. Midfielder KAMIYA Yuta (Shonan Bellmare) fed it the near side, which was headed into the right corner of the goal by rushing forward OGAWA Koki (Jubilo Iwata). The much-awaited opening goal accelerated Japan’s attack. In the 79th minute, they tallied the second goal when Doan’s shot hit the goal post and substitute forward IWASAKI Yuto (Kyoto Tachibana High School) reacted to the deflection for a difficult but successful shot.

Also in the 88th minute, they sealed the deal with the third goal. Ogawa penetrated into the right side of the penalty box to send a cross inside. Midfielder HARA Teruki (Ichiritsu Funabashi High School), who was also subbed on during the match, found the back of the net with his fierce right-footed strike. Japan successfully rebuilt their rhythm in the second half and put away the opposition in this important first match of the tournament.

In the second match, Japan take on Iran on Monday 17 October.

Coach's and Players' Comments 

UCHIYAMA Atsushi, Coach
In the first half, there were many easy mistakes and we couldn’t play our game. Partly because it was the first match of this campaign, and I expected we would be a little tight. So during the halftime, we corrected that. From the start of the second half, my players did a good job. It was a difficult match, but very good that we won the first match of the tournament.

FW #9  OGAWA Koki (Jubilo Iwata)
In the first half, all of us were too uptight and we had a hard time playing our brand of football. But I thought the opponents would be tired in the second half. So I was confident that we would be okay as long as we played Japan style of football. In the second half, my goal opened the scoring and put the team onto good momentum. Next match is against good teams like Iran. We want to keep today’s findings in mind from the beginning and play focused.

MF #21  HARA Teruki (Ichiritsu Funabashi High School)
It was the very important first match in this final qualifiers. Regardless of who got to start and who didn’t, the whole team started the match with very good mood. Me personally, I was telling myself that I would start my plays first with my defence, if I would get to play. As the result, we finished this match without allowing a single goal and I was able to score myself too. But we still have many things to improve, so we want to keep improving those for upcoming matches. For the second match, we as the whole team want to get ready.

Schedule

*Local Time
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.
*The Championship's top four ranked teams will then fly the Asian flag at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017. If Korea Republic, the hosting country of 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup, advances to the semifinals, the playoff matches will be held deciding the fifth place among the four losing teams in the quarterfinals.

AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016

2016-10-13(Thu.)～2016-10-30(Sun.)
More Information