U-17 Japan National Team, who will participate in the 22th International Youth Tournament of Václav Ježek 2015 in the Czech Republic, left Haneda Airport late in the night for Prague via Dubai after a two-day training camp in Shizuoka. The players travelled on a bus for approximately two more hours to finally get to their hotel – it took more than 24 hours in total from Shizuoka.

Although the players seemed to be tired due to the long flight, they started their practice session in the late afternoon in order to stretch their bodies. It was much cooler than Japan, and for the first day in the Czech Republic they started with careful stretching, followed by basic practices, such as passing the ball. The goalkeeper YAMAGUCHI Rui, who plays for FC Lorient in France, joined the team in the practice session.

On the fourth day of the tour, 17 August, it had been raining since the morning. The defender MORISHITA Reiya, who played for Cerezo Osaka U-18 and had also been on tour in Europe, and the forward ITO Ryoya, who plays for FC Schalke 04 in Germany, joined the team from the morning session.

In the afternoon, the midfielder DOAN Ritsu from Gamba Osaka Youth and the midfielder SASAKI Takumi from Vegalta Sendai Youth, both of whom played in the SBS CUP as U-18 National Team, as well as the defender TATSUTA Yugo from Shimizu S-Pulse Youth, who also played in the SBS CUP as U-18 Shizuoka Selection Team, arrived at the site.

Three more players, including the defender TOMIYASU Takehiro from Avispa Fukuoka U-18, who was called later, the forward NAKAMURA Shunta from Kashiwa Reysol U-18 and the defender HASHIOKA Daiki from Urawa Reds Youth, who were taking part in Kanto Mini National Structure, travelled separately before joining the team. In total, 19 players attended the practice session in preparation for their first match in the championship against Ukraine tomorrow.

Players' Comments

DOAN Ritsu (Gamba Osaka Youth)
I focused on relaxing my body today, as the session was just after traveling from the SBS CUP, in which I played for U-18 Japan National Team. U-17 Japan National Team is different from U-18. So I have to understand each player’s character to play well.

I’d like to communicate with them a lot on and off the pitch, so that we can use each other’s strength and we can play the coming matches in the championship as a united team from tomorrow.

YAMAGUCHI Rui (FC Lorient/France)
Many of the players in this team on the Czech tour, including me from France, joined the team separately from various places. So I think it’s vital to spend time on communicating each other.

Today we held a practice session, thinking of getting ready enough for tomorrow’s game. As the team hasn’t changed much from the one in the “International Youth Soccer in Niigata” in July, there is a good atmosphere around. We aim to win the championship.

Schedule

※Local Time

22th International Youth Tournament of Václav Ježek 2015 Participating Nation

Group Ａ: Czech Republic, Hungary, Japan, Ukraine
Group Ｂ: Slovakia, Slovenia, USA, Russia