The 28th Valentin Granatkin International Football Tournament Match 4th  vs  U-18 Belarus
2016-1-9 (Sat.) - 14:15  Playing Time: 90min. (45min.×2)
Peterburgsky SCC (Russia/Saint Petersburg)

U-18 Japan National Team   3-1 (2-0, 1-1)   U-18 Belarus National Team

Scores
10'   YOSHIHIRA Tsubasa (U-18 Japan National Team)
13'   KAJIYAMA Kanta (U-18 Japan National Team)
65'   ITO Hiroki (U-18 Japan National Team)
67'   Goal against (U-18 Belarus National Team)

Line-ups
GK: OSAKO Keisuke
DF: TANAKA Riku, TOMIYASU Takehiro, MORISHITA Reiya, NISHIMOTO Takanobu
MF: KAJIYAMA Kanta, SASAKI Takumi, ITO Hiroki, ITO Ryotaro
FW: NAKAMURA Shunta, YOSHIHIRA Tsubasa

Substitutes
GK: WAKAHARA Tomoya
DF: HASEGAWA Takumi, MORIOKA Riku
MF: SAITO Mitsuki, MIYAZAKI Kiwara, FUJIMOTO Kanya
FW: CARDONA Zen, SUGA Daiki

76'   YOSHIHIRA Tsubasa → CARDONA Zen
83'   KAJIYAMA Kanta → FUJIMOTO Kanya

Match Report

The final group game was against the U-18 Belarus National Team.

Japan kept possession from the beginning of the game and passed the ball around to dominate in attack. After 10 minutes, ITO Hiroki intercepted a forward pass in the opponent's area, dribbling up to send a through ball to the area in front of the goal. YOSHIHIRA Tsubasa, who received the ball, got through the defender with one-touch, and took a shot with his right foot, striking the opener.

In the 13th minute, NAKAMURA Shunta near the centre circle received a pass from Yoshihira, and got through the opponent with one-touch, just as Yoshihira did,  and dribbled up to the penalty area. Then he passed the ball to KAJIYAMA Kanta, who ran from the right wing, after drawing in the opponent. Kajiyama judged the goalkeeper’s position and fired a shot calmly into the right-hand corner, building a two-goal lead. The game went into the second half at 2-0.

In the second half, although Belarus started to attack back from Japanese passing errors, the defenders calmly reacted to keep them at bay in front of the goal and maintain a clean sheet. After 65 minutes, TOMIYASU Takehiro sent a pass forward to Yoshihira, who passed it to ITO Ryotaro on the left side. Then Ito Ryotaro dribbled up to initiate an attack. He got through the opponent and into the area behind the defensive line following a one-two with NISHIMOTO Takanobu at left back. He then passed the ball to Ito Hiroki, who advanced into the penalty area. Ito Hiroki then struck a goal with his left foot, adding some insurance.

After 67 minutes, however, Japan let the opponent move up into the penalty area and fire an over-the-head shot. Although the goalkeeper OSAKO Keisuke once saved it, the opponent scored from the loose ball. Japan stayed focused, controlling the game well in order not to give away any more opportunities, and won the match 3-1.

Japan finally earned their first victory in this championship in the fourth group game. Consequently, the team finished in fourth place in the group league, and will meet the U-18 Kazakhstan National Team on Monday 11 January.

Players' Comments

DF ＃4  MORISHITA Reiya (Cerezo Osaka U-18)
In today’s game, I focused on the problems, which we found in the previous three matches. We could deal with the opponent’s defence well in the first half, striking the opener early on in the game. We could also add more insurance. In the second half, although we were intercepted more often under pressure from the opponent, we survived that difficult period, and struck another goal. We conceded once, but it was good that we took the initiative to control the game and earned a victory. I’d like to prepare ourselves well, so that we can win a consolation final tomorrow.

DF ＃12  TANAKA Riku (Kashiwa Reysol U-18)
As we haven’t won a game, we were determined to get a "positive result" together. We could improve our problems a little – the timing of receiving the ball, the speed of support, and the distance between our teammates. I believed that fixing problems led us to score goals.

Personally, I made many careless mistakes, which were caused by slow judgement. So I’d like to look around and position carefully, so that I can judge swiftly and accurately to reduce mistakes. I’d also like to play more aggressively. We’ll get ourselves ready well for the coming match.

MF ＃17  ITO Hiroki (Jubilo Iwata U-18)
As we hadn’t been able to win any matches so far, we shared a strong determination to win one game. By scoring the opener and adding insurance, we could play in a more relaxed manner and control the match.

However, we were occasionally pressed by the opponent with their long-distance balls and long-distance throwing. Despite conceding a goal, we defended well and earned our first victory. I’m really pleased that I could get a good result as an individual and as a team.

Schedule

*Local time

The 28th Valentin Granatkin International Football Tournament Group Rosters

Group A : Saint Petersburg, Belarus, Slovakia, Japan, Lithuania
Group B : Finland, Kazakhstan, Estonia, Moldova, Russia
Group C : Slovenia, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Bulgaria