Friendly Match vs U-16 Oman National Team
2016-7-13 (Wed.) - 19:30   Playing Time: 90min. (45min.×2)
Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex (Muscat/Oman)

U-16 Japan National Team   2-0 (1-0, 1-0)   U-16 Oman National Team

Scores
41'   SUGAWARA Yukinari (U-16 Japan National Team)［PK］
65'   TANAHASHI Akito (U-16 Japan National Team)

Line-ups
GK: AOKI Kokoro
DF: SUGAWARA Yukinari, SEKIGAWA Ikuma, KEMMOTSU Takumu, FUJII Haruya
MF: TSUNO Ayase, HIRAKAWA Rei, KIDA Hinata, KOKUBU Ryuji
FW: TANAHASHI Akito, KUBO Takefusa

Substitutes
GK: TANI Kosei
DF: KIKUCHI Kenta, KATSURA Rikuto
MF: KUMASAWA Kazuki, SEHATA Gijo
FW: NAKAMURA Keito, IZUMI Toya

HT   TSUNO Ayase → IZUMI Toya
HT   SEKIGAWA Ikuma → KUMASAWA Kazuki
55'   KOKUBU Ryuji → NAKAMURA Keito
66'   TANAHASHI Akito → KATSURA Rikuto
73'   HIRAKAWA Rei → SEHATA Gijo
80'   KIDA Hinata → KIKUCHI Kenta

Match Report

The U-16 Japan National Team, nicknamed "00 Japan," beat the U-16 Oman National Team 2-0 on Wednesday 13 July in their first match of the Oman trip. Oman are one of the Asian powerhouses who won through the AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 Qualifiers on top and defeated Kyrgyz Republic, whom Japan face in the group stage of the finals. As there is a high possibility that Japan meet a Middle Eastern country in the quarterfinal of the AFC U-16 India 2016 in September, Oman are the best opponents at this moment for Japan looking to get a ticket to the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The match saw Japan struggling to create a chance because of their low-quality passes possibly drawn from the hot and humid environment, a long trip and jet lag. Then, Oman came forward with their trademark counterattacking in the 8th minute. Japan allowed them to pass the ball into space behind defenders but got out of the desperate trouble with their shot off target. After that, they started to string passes together and shook the opponents from side to side before grabbing goal-scoring opportunities.

In the 21st minute, when Japan attacked with passes and forward KUBO Takefusa threaded a through ball, midfielder KOKUBU Ryuji met it but was denied by the goalkeeper. Midfielder KIDA Hinata picked up the loose ball and sent a quick cross, with midfielder TSUNO Ayase getting close but failing to tap it in. And in the 28th minute, forward TANAHASHI Akito was not able to convert a one-on-one opportunity against the goalkeeper who made a fine save. But Japan continued to look for an opening with repetitive attacking from sides. In the 41st minute, Japan broke through the right flank before defender SUGAWARA Yukinari earned a penalty kick and netted it from the spot to open the scoring.

Japan, who tried to get an additional goal without allowing chances to the opponents, went attacking from the beginning in the second half. In the 65th minute, when Kubo beat a defender and put in a cross, Tanahashi met it to add another goal. Despite their intention to play with composure, Japan allowed Oman to execute countless counterattacks. Japanese players hardly shared their decisions among them and started passing backwards without aggressively challenging forward. They finished the match with a 2-0 lead, but there were a lot of issue left for the AFC U-16 Championship 2016. Japan will play against U-20 Al-Seeb Club on Friday 15 in the next match.

Players' Comments

DF #5  SEKIGAWA Ikuma (Ryutsukeizaidai Kashiwa High School)
I’m honoured to be called up to Japan National Team. I wasn't tensed in my first international match, but I made a big mistake that led to opponents' clear-cut chance. A big mistake directly leads to a loss in the AFC U-16 Championship, so I will always try to keep concentration. It's great I was able to deny opponents' attacks with my strength of headers. I will try to communicate with my teammates more and not to give the rhythm to the opponents in the rest of two matches.

MF #18  TSUNO Ayase (Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18)
It was my first national team friendly and I got tensed in the early stage of the match, but I got used to it as getting chances to touch the ball. But I wasn't able to show my strength like getting through space behind defenders. As a team, we were struggling to change the course of the match with the opponents picking up their momentum. In the next match, I will try to bring out momentary big plays to change the flow and get into space behind defenders by enhancing communication. Our team mood is good, and we will get through this trip without defeat before going for the AFC U-16 Championship India 2016 in style.

FW #11  TANAHASHI Akito (Yokohama F・Marinos Youth)
We won the match but got a lot of things to improve. I'm happy to score a goal as an individual but didn't have so many chances to find space behind defenders in the second half. As a team, we didn't have many opportunities with side attacks and failed to manage the defensive risk. Those are what to improve next. By the match day after tomorrow, we will share the reflection from video footage and try to improve it.

Schedule

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