Sun. 25 October

U-15 Japan National Team have started their tour of France. "00JAPAN", U-15 Japan National Team, who got through the AFC U-16 Championship 2016 Qualifiers in Mongolia last month, aim to book a place in the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 by winning matches in the AFC U-16 Championship 2016 next year in India.

The team have been invited by the French Football Federation to participate in the Val-de-Marne U-16 International Friendly Tournament 2015 and will meet the U-15 England National Team, the U-15 France National Team as well as the U-15 Netherlands National Team.

"00JAPAN", who had arrived in the outskirts of Paris, started their short training session in the morning and mainly did some stretching and running. As most of them have experienced the recent AFC U-16 Championship 2016 Qualifiers together, they communicated with each other very actively, focusing well on training despite the long flight and the time difference.

In the afternoon, the players repeatedly practiced defence. They started with 3-on-2 passing practice, followed by the usual 1-on-1, and moved onto 7-on-7 with goalkeepers. They practiced how to defend or intercept against physically stronger opponents, by focusing on passing speed, positioning, and coordination between the players.

The Class 1 Referee SHIMIZU Shuhei, who joined this team, officiated a 9-on-9 intrasquad game at the end of the session. The players stayed competitive and vocal as though it had been a real match, showing off their strengths.

In the evening, the players watched a "Ligue 1" match between Paris Saint-Germain vs AS Saint-Etienne to learn the reality and the level of European football.

* "00 JAPAN" is the nickname of the U-15 Japan National Team that consists of members who were born after 2000.

Players' Comments

FW  NAKAMURA Keito (Mitsubishi Yowa SC Sugamo Junior Youth)
I had an excellent time during the AFC U-16 Championship 2016 Qualifiers, experiencing a different feeling and atmosphere from normal official matches. However, I was not exactly sure where to receive the ball – in the space behind or near the defensive line, which was my personal issue to work on. I’d like to improve this during this tour, so that I can receive the ball and take a shot straight away.

Our coming opponents are very strong. I look forward to the friendlies and I’d like to learn from them. In our first game the day after tomorrow, we’ll display our team’s strength from the beginning and win the match, by playing aggressively and staying physically competitive.

MF  KIDA Hinata (Cerezo Osaka U-15)
I felt really frustrated, as I couldn’t play well due to my injury in the AFC U-16 Championship 2016 Qualifiers. So I’d like to display my strength as much as possible against the strong teams on this tour. As we learned in today’s session, the way and the timing of receiving the ball and a broad vision let us play well against physically stronger opponents. I’d like to improve the coordination among my teammates in tomorrow’s session, so that we can get ourselves ready for the coming game the day after tomorrow.

Watching a match in the "Ligue 1" was really productive. I saw the players stay calm in front of a huge crowd. I also saw their high level of performance, which we aim at – the quality and the speed in passing and the way of switching between attack and defence. I’ll practice hard everyday.

DF  KOBAYASHI Yuki (Vissel Kobe U-15)
During the AFC U-16 Championship 2016 Qualifiers, I realised the importance of practicing everyday to be able to play normally in an "away" atmosphere. I’d like to learn how to be more competitive and intercept the ball, as well as show off my strengths, against physically stronger opponents through the four games on this France tour.

Although all the players focused well on practice today in a good atmosphere, occasionally we could have communicated even more. So I’d like to fix these issues tomorrow. We’ll play the essential first match the day after tomorrow. I’d like to show off our team’s playing style, while personally displaying individual tenacious defence to win the game.

Schedule

Note: The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, etc. 

Val-de-Marne U-16 International Friendly Tournament

Four coutries of England, France, Netherlands and Japan will play a round-robin.