23rd International Youth Tournament of Václav Ježek 1st match vs U-17 Ukraine National Team
2016-8-16 (Tue.) - 17:00   Playing Time: 90min.（45min.×2）
Czech Republic/Stříbro

U-17 Japan National Team   0-1 (0-0, 0-1)   U-17 Ukraine National Team

Score
54'   Goal against (U-17 Ukraine National Team)

Line-ups
GK: SARUTA Haruki
DF: TANAKA Riku, AOYAMA Yusuke, NAKAGAWA So, MIYAMOTO Toshiaki
MF: HORI Kenta, IZAWA Haruki, NISHIYAMA Taiga, TSUBAKI Naoki
FW: KATO Takumi, SAKAI Masaki

Substututes
GK: OKI Yuya
DF: YAMADA Kota, SUGIYAMA Danto, OKANIWA Shuto
MF: SAITO Mitsuki, NAKAJIMA Motohiko, FUJIMOTO Kanya
FW: TAGAWA Kyosuke, NAKAMURA Shunta

53'   NISHIYAMA Taiga → FUJIMOTO Kanya
56'   SAKAI Masaki → NAKAMURA Shunta
69'   KATO Takumi → TAGAWA Kyosuke
82'   HORI Kenta → NAKAJIMA Motohiko

Match Report

The U-17 Japan National Team met the U-17 Ukraine National Team, who are second on the all-time tournament victory list, for the first match of the group stage. At the beginning of the first half, Japan played hastily in the face of strong pressure from the opponents and struggled to control the ball calmly. The players also seemed to find it difficult to adjust to the long-length grass. However, the team gradually settled down and found their rhythm. The score stayed scoreless before halftime.  

In the second half, although Japan looked for goals with momentum on their side, the team gave away a penalty kick in the 53rd minute. Scoring an opener from the spot, the opponents took the initiative once again. FUJIMOTO Kanya, NAKAMURA Shunta, TAGAWA Kyosuke, and NAKAJIMA Motohiko came off the bench in hunt for an equaliser, but the team could not find the back of the net. Japan lost their first game. 

They will play against the U-17 Czech Republic National Team in their second match on Wednesday 17 August.

Coach and Players' Comments

YAMAGUCHI Motohiro, Coach
During training sessions, I saw the players performed well enough to be competitive. However, in an actual game against (facing the opponents), they occasionally couldn’t keep up, which I believe led to this poor result. Furthermore, I couldn’t teach them the mentality required to perform at their best. We’d like to shift our focus and be ready to play for the next match.

DF #3  NAKAGAWA So (Kashiwa Reysol U-18)
We practiced hard preparing for the game. We entered the match with a strong determination to compete against the European counterparts. However, we couldn’t perform well and attain the desired result. Despite numerous goal-scoring opportunities, we couldn’t find the back of the net and lost the game, which is really regrettable. 

FW #19  SAKAI Masaki (Oita Trinita U-18)
We expected to face serious pressure from European opponents, who are physically stronger. However, the pressure was much stronger than I expected. Partly due to my mistakes, I couldn’t handle the ball well. I knew the importance of the first match. I am disappointed with the result.

Schedule

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

[23rd International Youth Tournament of Václav Ježek 2016]
GroupA: Czech Republic, Ukraine, Japan, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
GroupB: Slovakia, USA, Hungary, Russia