International Friendly Match
Sat. 21 December 2019 14:30 (Local Time) Match duration 90mins (45mins×2)
Stade Olympique de Rades (Tunis, Tunisia)

U-16 Japan National Team 0-2 (0-1, 0-1) U-18 Tunisia National Team

Scores
39' goal against (U-18 Tunisia National Team)
74' goal against (U-18 Tunisia National Team)

Starting Line-up
GK: TAKAHASHI Ippei
DF: ISHIZUKA Shin, SUWAMA Kosei, OZAWA Nozomi, MORITA Sho
MF: HIGASHI Ren, TOYAMA Haruki, FUJIWARA Kensuke, TANADA Ryo
FW: CHIBA Kanta, YAMAME Kensei

Reserves
DF: KUDO Kota, MATSUDA Hayate
MF: MIKI Jinta, KODA Hidemasa, SATO Yosei, HONBO Kanaki
FW: SUZUKI WADI Ibrahim, KATSUSHIMA Shinnosuke

Substitutions
HT OZAWA Nozomi → KUDO Kota
HT ISHIZUKA Shin → MATSUDA Hayate
HT FUJIWARA Kensuke → HONBO Kanaki
HT TANADA Ryo → KODA Hidemasa
HT YAMAME Kensei → KATSUSHIMA Shinnosuke
60' HIGASHI Ren → MIKI Jinta
67' CHIBA Kanta → SUZUKI WADI Ibrahim
76' MORITA Sho → SATO Yosei

Match Report

On Saturday 21 December, the U-16 Japan National Team played their second international friendly match against the U-18 Tunisia National Team.

With the Japanese side winning the first match played on Tuesday 17, Tunisia showed great intensity from the early minutes of the second match, as they took advantage of their physical strengths to apply pressure. Facing the intense pressure from the home side, Japan played passively throughout the half and conceded the opening goal in the 39th minute.

During halftime, Japan’s coach YAMAHASHI Takashi told his players, “Our transitions are too slow, and we are not giving our best efforts. It means nothing if we lose this match.” With the players responding to the coach’s words, Japan showed more aggression in the second half, as they started to take control of the ball possession. However, with Japan applying more numbers upfront, Tunisia capitalised on a counterattack to double their lead. Despite the efforts made by Japan to level the match, the match ended with a score of 0-2.

The U-16 Japan National Team will now return to Japan on Monday 23 December.

Players' Comments

DF #2 SUWAMA Kosei (Yokohama F・Marinos Youth)
I am very happy to be selected into the national team. Despite winning the first match 3-1, we ended up losing the second match 0-2. We lacked intensity and showcased a disappointing game. However, we did manage to create some close opportunities, so if we were able to capitalise on those chances, this match could have ended differently. I personally feel like I should have done a better job to manage the risks in defence. I saw plenty of room for improvements, so once I return to my club, I hope to feed off of this experience to become a better player.

DF #15 OZAWA Nozomi (Cerezo Osaka U-18)
When I was called up for this tour, I was both excited and nervous at the same time. We had to play a match soon after arriving in Tunisia, but we managed to communicate with each other to showcase a good performance. We struggled against the quick and strong pressure applied by the African players, but we gradually got used to the pressure as the match progressed. From this tour, I was able to learn where I stand in the world, so I hope to utilise this experience to improve myself as a player.

MF #6 HIGASHI Ren (Shimizu S-Pulse Youth)
After winning the first match, our opponent came out with more intensity in this second match and we struggled to find our rhythm during the first half. I was not able to win the individual battles to possess the ball and couldn’t create opportunities against the fast opponents. Although we managed to create more chances in the second half, we ended up losing the match. We had to do a better job to utilise our techniques against opponents with greater physicality.

MF #17 TOYAMA Haruki (Kyoto Sanga F.C. U-18)
Compared to our other tours, we had very limited time to prepare for our matches at this tour, and with many players joining this team for the first time, we focused on communicating with each other on and off the pitch. I was named as team captain for this tour and it gave me a great learning experience. The second match was a very disappointing match and I will feed off of this bitter feeling to become a better football player in the future.

Schedule

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

International Friendly Match - Tunisia Tour

Dates: Fri. 13 - Mon. 23 December 2019

Match Information