International Friendly Match vs U-17 Uruguay Women's National Team
Wed. 15 August 2018 Kick-off time 16:45 (Local time) Match duration 90mins (45mins x2)
Estadio Domingo Burgueno Miguel, Maldonado, Uruguay

U-17 Japan Women’s National Team 1-2 (0-1, 1-1) U-17 Uruguay Women's National Team

Scores
25' goal against (U-17 Uruguay Women's National Team)
47' goal against (U-17 Uruguay Women's National Team)
87' TAKIZAWA Chise (U-17 Japan Women’s National Team)

Starting Line-up
GK: FUKUDA Shiori
DF: YOSHIZUMI Warai, NAGAE Ibuki, OKUMA Tamaki, ITO Sara
MF: YAMAMOTO Yuzuki, MATSUDA Shino, NAKAO Momo, OSAWA Haruka
FW: KAMIYA Chiina, TANAKA Tomoko

Reserves
GK: OHBA Shu
DF: GOTO Wakaba, TOMIOKA Chihiro
MF: TAKIZAWA Chise
FW: MIZUNO Fukina

Substitution
37' NAKAO Momo → TOMIOKA Chihiro
HT OSAWA Haruka → GOTO Wakaba
78' YAMAMOTO Yuzuki → TAKIZAWA Chise
78' TANAKA Tomoko → MIZUNO Fukina

Match Report

After the draw for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018 took place, it was determined that Japan will be in Group B. And on this day, the U-17 Japan Women’s National Team played against U-17 Uruguay Women’s National Team at Estadio Domingo Burgueno Miguel, where Japan will play all three of their group stage matches at the World Cup.

At the beginning of the first half, Japan struggled to find their rhythm and couldn’t manage to score a goal, despite creating numerous chances. Japan continued to attack, but they conceded the opening goal in the 25th minute after conceding a penalty kick.

Desperately needing a goal, ITO Sara carried the ball at the centre of their half and passed it to TANAKA Tomoko in the 32nd minute. The ball was then connected to YAMAMOTO Yuzuki who delivered a cross to KAMIYA Chiina. Japan came short from levelling the match, as Kamiya’s shot struck the post. Japan continued to attack, but the first half ended 0-1.

Japan made one substitution at the start of the second half.

Two minutes into the second half, Uruguay forced a turnover and converted the opportunity to extend their lead to 2-0. In efforts to score a goal, OKUMA Tamaki collected a loose ball following a corner-kick in the 58th minute. The ball was delivered to Kamiya who struck a shot in the penalty area, but her attempt could not hit the target, as Japan once again failed to score a goal.

Japan continued to attack while changing their players’ positions, but still struggled to score a goal. In the 87th minute, Okuma’s pass from the centre found MIZUNO Fukina in the left flank, who delivered a cross towards the goal to allow TAKIZAWA Chise to score the long-awaited goal for Japan. Despite their efforts, Japan could not score further goals as the match ended with a final score of 1-2.

After the match, Japan participated in a promotion event of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018 in the VIP room of the stadium. At this event, the players were given the opportunity to socialise with the U-17 Uruguay Women’s National Team players.

The purpose of this tour to Uruguay was to simulate the World Cup scheduled to be held in Uruguay this November. The players were given the opportunity to experience the long travels as well as to play at the actual match venues. The experience they have gained at this tour was priceless and after playing two matches against the U-17 Uruguay Women’s National Team, the team will return to Japan tomorrow.

Players' Comments

GK #18 FUKUDA Shiori (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Junior Youth)
After the first match, I paid more attention to the space behind our defence line and how I respond to the crosses. However, I couldn’t make up my mind to respond to the crosses and fumbled the ball a few times. I must make better and quicker decisions on either to catch the ball or to parry the ball. The team conceded goals in both halves, and we allowed our opponents to score in the early minutes of the second half, so we must be more alerted in those early minutes.

DF #15 YOSHIZUMI Warai (CEREZO OSAKA SAKAI LADIES)
The day before our second match, we reviewed our first match and walked through what we lacked in that match. We realised that we lacked quality in our support, challenge and cover, and passes, so that was our main emphasis going into our second match. However, the team was overwhelmed by the intensity exerted by the Uruguayan side and made too many easy mistakes. I personally felt like I managed to perform well in defence, but couldn’t get involved in our offence as much, so I must improve that aspect of my game. During this tour, we learned that we lack intensity to close down the match when we are given the opportunity to do so, and our weakness in the mental aspect. We will remember this bitterness and feed off of this experience to improve ourselves ahead of the World Cup.

MF #6 MATSUDA Shino (Nippon TV Menina)
We played the Uruguay team for the second time of this tour. I entered the match with the intention to heighten my quality of support in this match. In this match, we couldn’t find our rhythm in the first half as we were overwhelmed by our opponent’s speed. We saw some improvements in the second half, as we managed to possess the ball for a longer time and created numbers of opportunities. However, we exposed many weaknesses through the two matches, as we made too many passing errors and ball control mistakes at crucial moments. We only have three more months until the World Cup, so we will give our best improve ourselves within the given time frame.

MF #7 TAKIZAWA Chise (Jumonji High School)
We held a player’s meeting after our first match and emphasised what we talked about during that meeting in our second match. However, we couldn’t enter the match in a good rhythm, and lacked movements as well as ball possession. As a result, we conceded a goal during the first half. I entered the match during the second half, and even though I managed to score a goal, the team couldn’t win the match, so it was very disappointing. In order for us to win at the World Cup, we must capitalise on the few chances we are given. That means that we must challenge ourselves even more to improve ourselves. All players must realise that they are representing the nation and showcase their commitment through their plays. We all must find our role in this team and give everything we’ve got to contribute for the team. We must not forget this bitter loss and work hard at our own clubs to heighten the individual levels.

Schedule

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

International Friendly Match

Dates: Thu. 9 - Wed. 15 August, 2018
Venue: Estadio Profesor Alberto Suppici、Estadio Domingo Burgueño Miguel, Uruguay
Tournament Information