SPORT FOR TOMORROW South Asia - Japan U-16 Football Exchange Programm
Third Match vs U-16 Bhutan National Team
14 March 2017(Tue.) Kick-off 17:00 (Local Time) Playing Time 90min. (45min. ×2)
Racecourse Grounds (Colombo, Sri Lanka)

U-15 Japan National Team　11-0（3-0, 8-0）U-16 Bhutan National Team

Scores
2'　NAKANO Keita（U-15 Japan National Team）
7'　SUMI Kohshiro（U-15 Japan National Team）
7'　YOSHIDA Yuji（U-15 Japan National Team）
47'　NAKANO Keita（U-15 Japan National Team）
51'　KONDO Kuraba（U-15 Japan National Team）
55'　ARAKI Ryotaro（U-15 Japan National Team）
56'　ARAKI Ryotaro（U-15 Japan National Team）
64'　NISHIKAWA Jun（U-15 Japan National Team）
73'　KONDO Kuraba（U-15 Japan National Team）
75'　NAKANO Keita（U-15 Japan National Team）
90'　NISHIKAWA Jun（U-15 Japan National Team）

Starting Line-ups
GK：SUZUKI Zion
DF：HANDA Riku, WATANABE Ryohei, SAKO Maaya, SHIMOKAWA Taiyo
MF：SUTOH Naoki, NARUOKA Hikaru, UEDA Keita, SUMI Kohshiro
FW：NAKANO Keita, YOSHIDA Yuji

Reserves
GK：YAMADA Taiki
DF：SUZUKI Kaito, FURUZONO Takumi
MF：ARAKI Ryotaro, KONDO Kuraba, NISHIKAWA Jun
FW：YAMATO Ren

Substitutions
HT　SUZUKI Zion → YAMADA Taiki
HT　HANDA Riku → SUZUKI Kaito
HT　SHIMOKAWA Taiyo → ARAKI Ryotaro
HT　NARUOKA Hikaru → NISHIKAWA Jun
HT　YOSHIDA Yuji → KONDO Kuraba
HT　SUTOH Naoki → FURUZONO Takumi
81'　NAKANO Keita → YAMATO Ren

Match Report

U-15 Japan’s final match of the SPORT FOR TOMORROW South Asia - Japan U-16 Football Exchange Programme saw the encounter against U-16 Bhutan National Team. Winning two previous matches, Japan will triumph the competition regardless of other fixture results if they beat Bhutan. While this was a must-win match for the Japanese squad, their aim was to score as many goals as possible without conceding any.

Right from the kick-off, U-15 Japan pressured the Bhutanese players from the frontline and created chances from stealing the ball in the opposing half. In the 2nd minute, surging up the left flank, SUTOH Naoki sent in a cross which was met by Nakano Keita waiting in front of the goal, finding the opening goal for the Japanese side.

Scoring tally continued for Japan as SUMI Kohshiro added the second in the 7th minute, and YOSHIDA Yuji fired in the third moments later, taking the commanding 3-0 advantage in the opening 10 minutes of the first half. By dominating possession, the Japanese squad took full control of the match, but due to the lack of finishing touches, they failed to extend the lead before halftime.

Japan brought in six new players for the second-half and this paid off as substitute NISHIKAWA Jun with a brilliant through pass found Nakano who scored the fourth for the team right after the break. Subbed-in players continued perform superbly, as KONDO Kuraba. ARAKI Ryotaro, and Nishikawa, who all came in after halftime, scored two goals each, while Nakano completed his hat-trick. The following four attackers tallied a total of 8 goals just in the second half, and along with two other players who scored a goal each in the first half, six Japanese players netted a total of 11 goals securing a sweeping victory over Bhutan in their last match of the competition. 

In the three fixtures of this international contest, the Japanese squad scored 23 goals while conceding only one. U-15 Japan National Team consisting of players born after 1 January 2002 successfully hoisted the trophy in their first international competition.

Final Standings

Winners：Japan
Second Place: Sri Lanka
Third Place: Nepal
Fourth Place: Bhutan

Coach's and Players' Comments

ARIMA Kenji, Coach (U-15 Japan National Team)
This has been our first trip abroad. I believe playing in this international competition has brought us some valuable experience on and off the pitch. We were able to share many things and while deepening the understanding of team tactics my players were also able to demonstrate their strengths and skills playing against three different South Asian teams with varying characteristics. We will make good use of this valuable experience and continue our efforts in preparation of AFC U-16 Championship scheduled this September.

GK #12 SUZUKI Zion (Urawa Reds Junior Youth)
First of all, I am happy that we won the international competition. While I observed significant improvements in the combination plays and the overall performance of team, I believe we still have many areas where we can improve on. Personally, I found many aspects of my game where I need to work on as well. After returning back to my club team, I will work hard to correct those issues found during this trip.

MF #14 NARUOKA Hikaru (Shimizu S-Pulse Junior Youth)
Training and competing in the environment that was significantly different from Japan, in Sri Lanka I learned the importance of taking special care in maintaining my physical condition, while paying close attention to controlling my weight including diet and other off-the-pitch activities. In the three matches of the competition, I was able to display my strength against the teams with strong physicality and pace. This was also an important achievement from this trip. I will keep up my hard work making good use of this valuable experience abroad.

FW #9 NISHIKAWA Jun (Yokohama F Marinos Junior Youth)
Since the climate and playing conditions were considerably different from Japan, it took some time before I got settled in Sri Lanka. However, as I got used to the local conditions, both the quality of my plays and the performance of the team improved as well. Certainly, winning the competition as a Japanese national team was a remarkable achievement. However, there were times where I couldn’t push myself to work harder. In the future, I will be looking to improve my performance to compete at higher-level competitions.

Schedule

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