Sunday 3 June saw the third match in Group C of the 46th Toulon International Tournament 2018 between the U-21 Japan National Team and U-21 Canada National Team. Japan allowed Canada to strike the opener in the ninth minute, and despite MITOMA Kaoru's equaliser on the 59th minute, Japan tied the game 1-1 and failed to earn its spot into the semi-finals.

Japan changed four players from their starting line-ups from the second match against Portugal. OBI Powell Obinna played in goal with HASHIOKA Daiki, TOMIYASU Takehiro, and SUGIOKA Daiki in the defensive line. FUJITANI So played on the right side and HATSUSE Ryo on the left, while ITAKURA Kou and MATSUMOTO Taishi were in the centre. MIYOSHI Koji and MORISHIMA Tsukasa were positioned in an attacking midfield position, and OGAWA Koki played as the lone striker.

In the first half, Japan took control of the ball possession to initiate attacks deep into the opponent’s half. In the ninth minute, however, Canada forced a turnover in Japan’s territory leading into a short counter. Although the Japanese goalkeeper Obi came out eliminating the shot angles, the Canadian player calmly knocked the ball into the left-hand corner, giving his side the opener. In efforts to level the game, Japan started to initiate attacks from both flanks following the 20th minute mark. The team managed to take shots, but they could not find the back of the net. The match entered halftime with a score of 1-0.

Japan, who needed a win to advance to the semi-finals, sent UEDA Ayase to the pitch who replaced Ogawa, and MITOMA Kaoru to substitute Morishima during halftime. The second half saw Japan forcing more turnovers in the attacking third, creating more chances to take shots. In the 59th minute, Hashioka delivered a long ball to Ueda, who was in front of the opponent’s goal. Mitoma reacted to a loose ball swiftly, and dribbled up despite the numerical disadvantage, calmly faking out the opponent before striking the ball into the right-hand corner, giving Japan the equaliser. The Japanese side dominated the match from there on, as Ueda, Miyoshi, and Mitoma each attempted multiple shots, but the opposing defenders showed their tenaciousness to keep the match tied. In the 79th minute, Hatsuse ran at full speed towards a long ball delivered from Matsumoto on the left flank. Finding himself left one-on-one against the opposing goalkeeper, Hatsuse attempted to lob the ball over the gaolkeeper’s head, but the shot went slightly off target. Japan failed to turn the match around and the game ended at 1-1. Turkey beat Portugal 2-1 after their game in Group C. As a result, Turkey topped Group C, followed by Canada in second place, Japan in third, and Portugal in fourth. Japan failed to advance to the semi-finals.

U-21 Japan National Team will take on U-21 Togo in the seventh-place match on Thursday 7 June. Mexico, Turkey, Scotland, and England will play in the semi-finals.

Coach and Players' Comments

YOKOUCHI Akinobu, Acting Coach
The players performed hard until the final whistle in order to decide the game within 80 minutes. We need to improve the quality of shots to score with our few opportunities, and also need to run more towards the space behind the opposing defenders. I believe this is what we need to improve in order to decrease the gap between us and the rest of the world. At the beginning of the match, our offence and defence were too far apart, and our opponents exploited that gap. In the second half, the players tried harder and managed to keep better possession of the ball. We created numerical advantages in defence and played without hesitation. The biggest issue we have right now is the fact we couldn’t score goals. We will now play in the play-offs, but there are no matches we can afford to waste. How we manage to keep our motivations up will play a key role in our next match. The players looked motivated after the match today, so I believe they will keep their conditions into the next match. Togo is a rare opponent to face, so it will be a valuable experience for us.

MF #6 HATSUSE Ryo (Gamba Osaka)
We conceded a goal from my mistake. It was the only scene where the opponents got through us, so it is very regretful. Having said that, we managed to reset our minds to create goal-scoring opportunities after that goal. We still need to improve ourselves and heighten our quality upfront to score more goals. The fact we couldn’t earn the results we wanted shows that we still have long ways to go. But if we work on what we lack and continue to improve ourselves we will get better results. I believe this team is moving in the right direction, so I’d like to reset my mind and do my best in the next match.

MF #8 MITOMA Kaoru (University of Tsukuba)
I was determined to play aggressively in today’s match. However, I missed out on the opportunity to score the second goal, when Miyoshi delivered a great cross. I must improve myself and be able to score in those situations. We had to get better results in order to reflect it in our future matches, so I am disappointed.

MF #10 MIYOSHI Koji (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo)
We all entered the match with the same goal, to win the match after the full 80 minutes. We had our chances, and we dominated the second half. We managed to level the match but lacked quality at the final third to decide the match in our favour. We have conceded from turnovers in the past, but there were slight gaps among our mutual understandings on how to move the ball around. Our build-ups have improved little by little, and we are starting to gain confidence in that aspect. As a player in the attacking third, I feel like it is most important to improve the quality to finish, pass accuracy, and shot accuracy.

Schedule

*Results of the group stage determines which teams advances to the Semi-finals and play-off matches
*Local Time
*Kick off time is subject to change

Groups of the 46th Toulon International Tournament

Group A: England, China PR, Mexico, Qatar
Group B: France, Korea Republic, Scotland, Togo
Group C: Canada, Japan, Portugal, Turkey