18 October (Tue.)

With a 0-0 draw against Iran in their second match of the group stage in the AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain, U-19 Japan National Team have earned four points with one win and one draw. On 18 October, just a day after the match, their starting squad had recovery workout with walking and stretching at their hotel in the morning just like the day after the first match, while substitutes trained on the pitch in the afternoon. Despite the small number of players involved, the players of the latter fired up each other and had a productive training session. 

19 October (Wed.)

With a day to go until their third match of the group stage against Qatar, the squad had a team meeting before leaving for training. In preparation for the Qatar match on the 20th, the players tried to learn opponents' characteristics as well as trained with a good image of their own team by watching some of their better-executed scoring highlights.

Japan will secure the top spot of the group with a victory tomorrow. And even with a draw or a loss, they will qualify for the knockout stage depending on the result of the Iran-Yemen match, which is scheduled to kick off at the same time.

Players' Comments

DF ＃2 FUJITANI So (Vissel Kobe)
To get through the group stage, we will focus on the end results in tomorrow's Qatar match, although we understand that playing our game is also important. We couldn't score even though we had good chances in the Iran match. In the team meeting today, we all were able to get on the same page in orchestrating goals by watching our past scoring scenes. We had high motivation in the training and played well, so we want to show what we've trained in the tomorrow's match.

MF ＃17 ICHIMARU Mizuki (Gamba Osaka)
The match against Qatar tomorrow is expected to be a tough match, but if we can show our strength, I believe we can defeat them. As an individual, I'm frustrated because I didn't get any playing time in the last two matches. If I get a chance to play tomorrow, I will try to help my team win. Different from the first two teams, Qatar have got both driving power and good skills. We will try to stay aware of their strength and get a victory by bringing out our best.

FW ＃20 IWASAKI Yuto (Kyoto Tachibana High School)
We will win it out tomorrow and advance to the next stage. Because I'm a striker, I'm at the closest position to the goal. I haven't score any goal yet, but I hope to help my team win with my goal in tomorrow's match. We will try hard for the fans coming from Japan to Bahrain and supporting us in Japan.

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.)
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