JENESYS 2018 Japan-Mekong U-17 Football Exchange Tournament
3rd Match vs U-17 Vietnam National Team
Sun. 7 October 2018 Kick-off 11:00 (Japan time) Match duration 90mins (45mins x2)
J-Village Field No.1 (Fukushima)

U-17 Japan National Team 4-1 (3-0, 1-1) U-17 Vietnam National Team

Scores
17' NISHIO Ryuya (U-17 Japan National Team)
42' FUJIO Shota (U-17 Japan National Team)
45' WADA Aiki (U-17 Japan National Team)
59' goal against (U-17 Vietnam National Team)
73' AYUKAWA Shun (U-17 Japan National Team)

Starting Line-up
GK: MITSUI Daiki
DF: HASHIMOTO Shuya, SUMI Seiga, OMORI Rio, NISHIO Ryuya
MF: AITSUBO Shuto, KOBAYASHI Natsuki, OHORI Ryonosuke, MATSUMURA Yuta
FW: FUJIO Shota, WADA Aiki

Reserves
GK: UEDA Itsuki
DF: KANO Kanato, TAKAHASHI Yusho
MF: TAKADA Soya, HOKAZONO Ryuichi, AYUKAWA Shun, HONDA Fuchi
FW: WAKATSUKI Yamato

Substitutions
HT WAKATSUKI Yamato → FUJIO Shota
HT HONDA Fuchi → KOBAYASHI Natsuki
80' KANO Kanato → NISHIO Ryuya
80' AYUKAWA Shun → MATSUMURA Yuta

Match Report

The U-17 Japan National Team faced the U-17 Vietnam National Team in their third match of the JENESYS 2018 Japan-Mekong U-17 Football Exchange Tournament. Vietnam has won and lost a match apiece thus far, and still had the chance to advance to the final with a win over Japan.

It was the Vietnam side who showed aggression to start the match, as they applied high-pressure from their front line. With great consecration level, Vietnam displayed quick transitions between their offence and defence. Japan on the other side, struggled against the pressure applied by the opponents and couldn’t control the ball. Despite being dominated in the early minutes of the match, Japan didn’t give away critical opportunities to their opponents and managed to gradually pick up their pace. As Japan started to take control of the match, the opening goal came in the 17th minute from a corner kick, when OHORI Ryonosuke (Sanfrecce Hiroshima Youth) delivered a cross to the far side where NISHIO Ryuya (Cerezo Osaka U-18) made a run to head the ball into the net. Japan went onto to create multiple chances to threaten the Vietnam goal, but lacked quality in the final third to extend their lead. However, in the 42nd minute, KOBAYASHI Natsuki (Yokohama F-Marinos Youth) broke through the middle and struck a powerful shot from distance. The shot was once blocked by the goalkeeper, but forward FUJIO Shota (Cerezo Osaka U-18) was there to convert the loose ball. WADA Aiki (Yokkaichi Chuo Technical High School) followed by scoring with his header in the 45th minute, after Nishio delivered an early cross towards the goal. With their rally in the closing minutes of the first half, Japan ran up their tally to three goals by halftime.

Japan was caught off guards in the 59th minute to concede a goal which gave momentum to the Vietnam side. The match would enter a deadlock for a while, until AYUKAWA Shun (Sanfrecce Hiroshima Youth) converted a loose ball in front of the goal in the 73rd minute to regain their three-goal lead. Japan would sustain their lead until the final whistle and advance to the final with three consecutive wins.

Players' Comments

DF #2 HASHIMOTO Shuya (Ichiritsu Funabashi High School)
This was my first match as a captain. I personally felt that I needed to be more vocal to lift the team’s vibes and coach my peers a lot more. In terms of my performance on the pitch, I lacked quality when controlling the ball and my passes were weaker than the others, so those are some aspects I must work on moving forward. My strength lies on my ability to intercept the ball and to get myself involved in offence, so I will try to showcase more of those qualities. We will continue to give our best in the final day so that we can make this tour a positive one.

MF #7 MATSUMURA Yuta (Shizuoka Gakuen High School)
The winner of this match had the possibility to advance as first place and Vietnam carried lots of momentum heading into this match, so I entered the match with a focus to stay composed. We managed to score a total of four goals from our crosses and the offensive players did well to pressure the ball from the front line, so these aspects should help us in the final as well. I was also able to get myself involved in one of our goals, so I am pretty satisfied with that. However, we conceded opportunities to our opponents from our own mistakes at times, so we must do better in that aspect. I will keep striving to score goals and fight to win the title for those who aren’t able to play.

MF #10 OHORI Ryonosuke (Sanfrecce Hiroshima Youth)
With the top seed at stake, we entered the match a bit rattled, but by communicating with each other, we managed to retain our composure. My main focus at this match was on transitions. I managed to make quick transitions to defence and forced turnovers when our opponents had possession of the ball, so that’s something I want to keep working on. We faced some tough stretches where we had control of the match but couldn’t score a goal. I am glad I was able to assist the opening goal from a corner kick. I will like to get myself involved in our team’s goal tomorrow and win the title.

Schedule

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

JENESYS 2018 Japan-Mekong U-17 Football Exchange Tournament

Tournament Dates: Fri. 5 - Mon. 8 October
Tournament Information