Val-de-Marne U-16 International Friendly Tournament 2018
1st Match vs U-15 Austria National Team
Tue. 30 October 2018 Kick-off 16:00 Match duration 80mins (40mins x2)
Stade Gabriel Peri Field No.3, France

U-15 Japan National Team 2-0 (1-0, 1-0) U-15 Austria National Team

Scores
39' KATSUSHIMA Shinnosuke (U-15 Japan National Team)
58' SUWAMA Kosei (U-15 Japan National Team)

Starting Line-up
GK: KANOSHIMA Yu
DF: MATSUKI Kuryu, SUWAMA Kosei, ISHII Reona, OISHI Ryoya
MF: YAMANE Riku, TOYAMA Haruki, TOYODA Koki, NAKAMURA Jiro
FW: NOZAWA Leon, KATSUSHIMA Shinnosuke

Reserves
GK: NAGATA Mio
DF: OSAKO Aoto, TANAKA Hayato, MIZUTANI Yusuke
MF: NAKAI Takuhiro
FW: SHIMOKAWA Haruki, MUKAI Hayate

Substitutions
34' TOYAMA Haruki → NAKAI Takuhiro
HT KANOSHIMA Yu → NAGATA Mio
49' NOZAWA Leon → SHIMOKAWA Haruki
64' YAMANE Riku → OSAKO Aoto
64' TOYODA Koki → TANAKA Hayato
72' KATSUSHIMA Shinnosuke → MIZUTANI Yusuke
72' NAKAMURA Jiro → MUKAI Hayate

Match Report

The U-15 Japan National Team faced the U-15 Austria National Team in their first match of the Val-de-Marne U-16 International Friendly Tournament 2018. As the defending champions, lots of attention was headed towards the Japanese side. In the early minutes of the match, Austria was seen applying aggressive pressure to win the ball and sending simple long balls to their front line. The Japanese side on the other hand, struggled to adjust to the pitch condition, as they were seen making errors in their passes and ball control. Their patience was being tested for a long stint, but Japan managed to evade the threats created by their opponents during that stretch. Japan’s patience was finally awarded in the 39th minute, when NOZAWA Leon delivered a pass to KATSUSHIMA Shinnosuke in front of the goal, who made a superb turn to launch a shot into the goal, giving Japan the long-awaited goal just before halftime.

With momentum on their side, it was Japan who took control of the match in the second half, as they effectively utilised the width of the field to keep Austria guessing the point of their attacks. As the Austrian side started to run out of gas, NAKAMURA Jiro earned a freekick at the right flank in the 58th minute. Nakamura took this spot kick himself and delivered a cross towards the centre, where SUWAMA Kosei was able to convert with his header to double the team’s lead. The match would end with a final score of 2-0, giving Japan a win in their first match of the tournament.

Players’ Comments

GK #1 KANOSHIMA Yu (FC Tokyo U-15 Fukagawa)
This is my fourth time being called up to the national team, and I am excited to be given the opportunity to face the European giants like Austria, England, and France. In our training sessions leading up to yesterday’s session, I was able to understand my teammates characters and managed to prepare well for this match. We faced an Austrian side that consists large players, but I am glad that we managed to win with a clean sheet. We will be facing France next. I hope that I can showcase my strengths and help the team win the match. During this tour, I will continue to challenge myself and find out how much I can cope with the rest of the world.

DF #3 SUWAMA Kosei (Yokohama F・Marinos Junior Youth)
I am very honoured to be named in the national team. In this tour, we will be facing strong teams such as Austria, France, and England, so I was very much looking forward for the challenge. With today’s match being our first match, there were many difficult aspects, but I am glad that we managed to win with a score of 2-0 and I am happy that I was able to score a goal. However, this is just one win, and we still have two more matches to play, so I will continue to work hard to contribute for the team’s victory.

FW #8 KATSUSHIMA Shinnosuke (Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-15)
We faced a team with many large and speedy players today, which is something we don’t normally see in Japan or in Asia. We struggled to find our pace at first, but the players managed to showcase each of their strong point to take control of the match and eventually win the match. I personally was able to score a goal today, so I hope to get myself involved in the team’s goals in the remaining two matches and help the team win.

Schedule

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