U-16 Japan National Team  vs  U-18 India National Team
2016-6-1 (Wed.) - 20:00   Playing Time: 90min. (45min.×2)
PJN Stadium (Goa/India)

U-16 Japan National Team   4-0 (2-0, 2-0)   U-18 India National Team

Scores
12'   SUZUKI Toichi (U-16 Japan National Team)
16'   MIYASHIRO Taisei (U-16 Japan National Team)
73'   KUBO Takefusa (U-16 Japan National Team)
78'   FUKUOKA Shimpei (U-16 Japan National Team)

Line-ups
GK: AOKI Kokoro
DF: SUGAWARA Yukinari, KIKUCHI Kenta, KATSURA Rikuto, NISHIO Ryuya
MF: HIRAKAWA Rei, FUKUOKA Shimpei, KIDA Hinata, SUZUKI Toichi, KUBO Takefusa
FW: MIYASHIRO Taisei

Substitutes
GK: TANI Kosei, KOKUBO Leobrian
DF: HIGASHI Shunki, KUWAHARA Kaito, KANO Kanato
MF: KOZUKI Soichiro, SEHATA Gijo, MATSUMOTO Nagi
FW: YAMADA Hiroto, NAKAMURA Keito, KURIHARA Ibrahim Junior

HT   KIKUCHI Kenta → HIGASHI Shunki
HT   SUZUKI Toichi → MATSUMOTO Nagi
72'   HIRAKAWA Rei → SEHATA Gijo
80'   FUKUOKA Shimpei → KURIHARA Ibrahim Junior

Match Report

“00Japan” cruised past the U-18 India National Team 4-0 during their India trip on 1 June. Japan have a possibility to compete against India in the quarterfinals of the 2016 AFC U-16 Championship, which serves as a qualifying for the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Considering it, the game kicked off at 20:00. Despite the fact that the opponents were older by two years, Japan understood they would need to play like it's the actual tournament and retained high concentration from their warmups.
　
India came on against Japan putting pressure from their own front early on, but Japan managed to deal with it with poise, not giving up chances for shots. As Japan played patiently and gradually grabbed the flow of the game, midfielder KUBO Takefusa dribbled past a defender on the right side and midfielder SUZUKI Toichi put a cross from Kubo in for a goal in the 12th minute. Moreover, midfielder HIRAKAWA Rei dropped a cross from Kubo, forward MIYASHIRO Taisei had it and fired a shot for the second goal for Japan in the 16th. But as the rain began harder, Japan had more passing mistakes and gave chances to their opponents. Yet Japan showed resiliency at competing for the ball and didn't give up a goal. In the 44th, defender KIKUCHI Kenta volleyed a cross from Suzuki but it was saved by the India goalkeeper. The game went in halftime with Japan up 2-0.

In the second half, Japan had hard times creating scoring chances under the rain storm that got heavier and heavier. Yet their defensive units had concentration around defenders SUGAWARA Yukinari and NISHIO Ryuya, and stopped shots from their opponents. In the 70th, defender HIGASHI Shunki reacted to a through pass from Kubo and became 1-on-1 against the India goalkeeper. He tried to score on a loop shot, but it went off the goalmouth. In the 73rd, midfielder SEHATA Gijo intercepted a pass with a spirited play and quickly fed a pass to Kubo. Kubo netted it with a pose to give Japan a 3-0 lead. In the 78th minute, midfielder FUKUOKA Shimpei kicked a loose ball following a corner kick into the goal for the fourth goal for Japan. Japan kept their focus and went on to post a 4-0 win. They will play against the U-18 Goa Selection on 2.

Players' Comments

GK #1  AOKI Kokoro (JFA Academy Fukushima U18)
It feels great to have won our important first game. We kept good pace in the first half, but with the rainstorm, the pitch condition altered in the second half, and it gave us a hard time adjusting to it. By aggressively getting out for crosses by the opponents, I think I was able to display my strength. But I didn't quality kicks and it's my issue. I would like to deepen our communication with our defenders and be more collective by our next game. We would like to win with the whole team tomorrow as well.

MF #6  KIDA Hinata (Cerezo Osaka U-18)
We played the game at the same stadium as we actually use for the AFC U-16 Championship, and gained valuable experience. The mood, pitch condition and dressing room at the stadium are a lot different from ones we use in Japan, so it was great that we experienced them at first hand. While we are happy with the win, we made so many technical mistakes playing on the muddy pitch with the rainstorm. The rainstorm could take place during the AFC U-16 Championship, so I would like to keep playing consistently, especially in competing for the ball against the opponents, no matter what kind of situations I'm in. I would like to go in tomorrow with the best preparation I can have.

MF #12  KUBO Takefusa (F.C. Tokyo U-18)
It's good for us to have been able to play in the closer circumstances to the actual AFC U-16 Championship in India. The rainstorm changed the pitch conditions and it was good experience for us. As a team, we scored two goals earlier in the first half and we had stable defence, and I think the way we played the game was just fine. But occasionally we had our passing too slow, and weren't on the same page between the passers and receivers. So we will need to share our thoughts going forward. It was great that I was able to contribute to the team's win in scoring and assists, but I want to get in the space behind the defenders more. I want to work on so many issues, such as our collectiveness and transitions between our offence and defence.

Schedule

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