On Tuesday, 14 November, the U-17 Japan National Team played their second group stage match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023™ against the U-17 Argentina National Team at Si Jalak Harupat Stadium in Bandung, Indonesia.

For this match, GOTO Wataru (FC Tokyo U-18) started between the sticks, while SHIBATA Shotaro (Kawasaki Frontale U-18), KOSUGI Keita (Shonan Bellmare U-18), TSUCHIYA Kaito (Kawasaki Frontale U-18), and HONDA Kotaro (Shonan Bellmare U-18) formed the back line. YAMAMOTO Joi (Tokyo Verdy Youth), NAKAJIMA Yotaro (Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth), YOSHINAGA Yumeki (Kamimura Gakuen High School), and SATO Ryunosuke (FC Tokyo) made up the midfield, while MICHIWAKI Yutaka (Roasso Kumamoto) and TAKAOKA Rento (Nissho Gakuen High School) were named as the two strikers.

The match, which kicked off 15 minutes late after the first match at the same venue was suspended due to inclement weather, saw Argentina take the initiative in the opening minutes as they looked to bounce back from a 0-2 defeat to Senegal in their first match.

Japan conceded the opening goal in the fifth minute, when Claudio ECHEVERRI converted a direct free kick, which was followed by a goal from Valentino ACUNA in the eighth minute. “The fact that we conceded the second goal right after conceding the first is something we really regret,” said Tsuchiya, as Japan had to face an uphill battle for the remainder of the match.

After conceding a two goal lead, the Japanese players were seen huddling on the pitch to make the necessary adjustments to withstand Argentina's intense pressure, something Sato recalled as “something we had never experienced in Japan before.”

At half-time, head coach MORIYAMA Yoshiro sent his players off with the words: “We will fight back in the second half, let's raise our performance to a higher level.”

With the players responding to their coach's words, Japan began to show more aggression in the attacking third, which led to their goal in the 50th minute when Takaoka converted Shibata's cross to halve the deficit. The introduction of INOUE Alen (Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth) at half-time also helped the team get behind the Argentine defence.

In the 87th minute, Japan managed to get the ball into the net from a corner kick, but the goal was disallowed for a foul on the goalkeeper. With time running out, Argentina took advantage of Japan's high pressing and Agustin RUBERTO's shot from outside the box took a deflection before finding the net in additional time to give the South Americans a 3-1 victory.

“We have reminded ourselves that we are still in contention, and we just need to win our next match, so we will do our best to prepare ourselves in the next two days,” said Sato after the match. The team will play their third and final group stage match against Senegal on Friday, 17 November.

Coach and Players' Comments

MORIYAMA Yoshiro, Head Coach
We knew the quality of their attackers, the intensity of their play when facing the goal, but I think it exceeded our expectations. We managed to dictate the pace in the second half but lacked the quality in the final third. However, the fact that we were able to dominate a team like Argentina for 45 minutes gives us confidence going forward. We just need a point or better from our next match, and we will do our best to reach the knockout stage.

DF #4 TSUCHIYA Kaito (Kawasaki Frontale U-18)
We knew they were going to be aggressive right from the start, so we should have been a little more aware of the distance and tempo, and more confident in our own ability to possess the ball. Against a strong opponent like Argentina, we needed to be more aware of covering each other in case we were beaten individually. I will focus on the things I need to work on before the next game.

MF #7 NAKAJIMA Yotaro (Sanfrecce Hiroshima FC Youth)
I thought we played a good game from the start of the second half. I think we had what it takes to win, but we need to do a better job in the first half, especially defensively when it really matters. We need to be stronger in one-on-one situations and also win as a group. Knowing how well we played in the second half, we really regret how we played in the first half.

MF #10 SATO Ryunosuke (FC Tokyo)
Similar to our game against Poland, we felt like we were being pushed around in the first half. So, we told each other at half-time to relax a bit and play more aggressively, and we played much better in the second half. Although we lost the game, I am quite happy with the way we played in the second half. Personally, I feel I need to improve the quality of my play in the penalty area.

FIFA U-17 World Cup Indonesia 2023™

Tournament Dates: Fri. 10 November - Sat. 2 December 2023

Tournament information