SPORT FOR TOMORROW South Asia - Japan U-16 Football Exchange Programme
First Match vs U-16 Sri Lanka National Team
11 March 2017(Sat.) Kick-off 19:00 (Local Time) Playing Time 90min. (45min. ×2)
Racecourse Grounds (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

U-15 Japan National Team　3-1（3-1, 0-0）U-16 Sri Lanka National Team

Scores
9'　YOSHIDA Yuji（U-15 Japan National Team）
14'　YOSHIDA Yuji（U-15 Japan National Team）
44'　YOSHIDA Yuji（U-15 Japan National Team）
45＋2'　goal against（U-16 Sri Lanka National Team）

Starting Line-ups
GK：SUZUKI Zion
DF：HANDA Riku, SUZUKI Kaito, SAKO Maaya, UEDA Keita
MF：NISHIKAWA Jun, ARAKI Ryotaro, WATANABE Ryohei, SUMI Kohshiro
FW：NAKANO Keita, YOSHIDA Yuji

Reserves
GK：YAMADA Taiki
DF：SHIMOKAWA Taiyo, FURUZONO Takumi
MF：KONDO Kuraba, NARUOKA Hikaru
FW：YAMATO Ren, SUTOH Naoki

Substitutions
57'　UEDA Keita → KONDO Kuraba
67'　HANDA Riku → FURUZONO Takumi
69'　SUMI Kohshiro → SHIMOKAWA Taiyo
71'　ARAKI Ryotaro → NARUOKA Hikaru
83'　NAKANO Keita → SUTOH Naoki
83'　YOSHIDA Yuji → YAMATO Ren

Match Report

U-15 Japan National Team played their first match of the SPORT FOR TOMORROW South Asia - Japan U-16 Football Exchange Programme against host U-16 Sri Lanka. Both the hosting country and visitors saw large audience gather and watch the opening game of this international event.

Under light rain, Japan could not control and move the ball well due to slippery pitch condition in the beginning of the match. However, in the 9th minute YOSHIDA Yuji (Cerezo Osaka U-15) scored the opening goal, and then added another in the 14th minute giving the Japanese side an early 2-0 lead.

Thereafter, U-16 Sri Lanka with physical advantage threatened the Japanese goal several times, but the U-15 Japan squad did not allow the host to cut their lead.

Partly due to the lack of finishing touches, the scoreline remained the same until the closing minutes of the first half. It was Yoshida who completed a hat-trick to give Japan 3-0 advantage. However, Sri Lanka scored right after this goal, cutting the deficit to two goals just before entering halftime.

In the second half, both teams subbed in fresh players. However, the game remained in the balance as both sides failed to score any additional goals. Japan posted their first win of the international competition by defeated the hosts 3-1. The next match for the Japanese team will be against U-16 Nepal National Team, who also secured their first victory in the opening match.

Players' Comments

MF #7 ARAKI Ryotaro (Roasso Kumamoto U-15)
I was very nervous since I hadn’t played matches for some time. It took some before I got used to the pitch condition, but gradually started to perform better and display my style of football. Despite winning the match, we still found many issues. We will need to sort them out for the upcoming games.

MF #16 SUMI Kohshiro (Tokyo Musashino City Football Club U-15)
Since it was the first match of the competition, we lacked versatility and looked rigid in the beginning. However, we got settled after the opening goal. Personally, I think I was able to display my strengths and skills on the pitch. I hope I can perform with similar intensity I felt in the first match. After arriving in Sri Lanka, we have been able to communicate very well on and off the pitch. We are looking to win the remaining two matches as well.

FW #13 YOSHIDA Yuji (Cerezo Osaka U-15)
I am simply happy I scored a hat-trick today. Against the Sri Lankan players with strong physicality, I was able to contribute to the team’s victory by scoring goals. By winning the remaining two matches, we are looking to win the competition as well.

Schedule

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