Sport Chain Cup UAE 3rd Match vs U-18 Czech Republic National Team
Sun. 24 March 2019 Kick-off time 14:45 (local time) Match duration 90mins (45mins×2)
The Sevens Stadium (Dubai, UAE)

U-18 Japan National Team 1-2 (0-1, 1-1) U-18 Czech Republic National Team

Scores
27' goal against (U-18 Czech Republic National Team)
67' MATSUHASHI Yuan (U-18 Japan National Team)
70' goal against (U-18 Czech Republic National Team)

Starting Line-up
GK: MITSUI Daiki
DF: BANGNAGANDE Kashif, INOUE Miki, TAKAHASHI Yusho, KAWAMOTO Riyo
MF: KUMASAWA Kazuki, YAMAMOTO Rihito, TAKADA Soya, MATSUOKA Daiki, DOHI Kodai
FW: FUJIO Shota

Reserves
GK: NOZAWA Taishi Brandon
DF: SUZUKI Mizuki
MF: MATSUHASHI Yuan, SHIBATA Sosuke, SUZUKI Yuito
FW: KURIBARA Ibrahim Junior, TAKEDA Hidetoshi

Substitutions
HT' DOHI Kodai → KURIBARA Ibrahim Junior
HT' TAKADA Soya → SHIBATA Sosuke
57' MITSUI Daiki → NOZAWA Taishi Brandon
64' FUJIO Shota → MATSUHASHI Yuan
64' MATSUOKA Daiki → SUZUKI Yuito
72' MATSUHASHI Yuan → SUZUKI Mizuki
72' BANGNAGANDE Kashif → TAKEDA Hidetoshi

Match Report

On Sunday 24 March, the U-18 Japan National Team played their third match of the Sport Chain Cup UAE against the U-18 Czech Republic National Team.

The opening goal came in the 27th minute when Czech Republic converted their opportunity to take the lead. Czech Republic came close to doubling their lead in the 33rd minute, but Japanese goalkeeper MITSUI Daiki made a fine save to keep the score intact.

In efforts to equalise the match, Japan converted their formation to a 4-4-2 and brought in SHIBATA Sosuke and KURIBARA Ibrahim Junior at the start of the second half. Despite making the substitutions, Japan struggled to score a goal, and decided to bring in MATSUHASHI Yuan in the 64th minute. Three minutes later, the cross delivered by Matsuhashi deflected off a Czech defender’s hand in the box to give Japan a penalty kick. It was Matsuhashi who stepped up to take the spot kick, as he calmly slotted the ball into the net to level the match.

However, Czech Republic capitalised on a corner kick to retake the lead in the 70th minute.

Despite the final efforts made by Japan, the final whistle blew to give Czech Republic the victory with a score of 1-2.

Players' Comments

DF #15 TAKAHASHI Yusho (Yonago Kita High School)
We weren’t able to find our rhythm in this match against Czech Republic. We couldn’t find ways to break through the opposing defence and conceded a goal in the first half, just like we did in our previous match. Even when we scored the equaliser, we conceded a goal soon afterwards. This match has made us realise that there are many aspects we must improve on. However, we did manage to showcase some good attacks and played hard until the end. Those are some of the positive aspects we can take home. We must analyse what we did well and what we lacked over the course of this tour and implement those aspects to our daily trainings, so that we can become a better team.

DF #19 BANGNAGANDE Kashif (F.C. Tokyo U-18)
In today’s match, our passes lacked speed and our positionings were off in the first half. That all contributed to the goal we conceded. We managed to increase our intensity towards the goal in the second half and we were able to finish more of our plays with a shot. The equaliser gave us great momentum, but we ended up conceding another goal soon after, which was very disappointing. Throughout this tour, we have seen gradual improvements as a team and as individuals. The tournament has also given us many tasks to work on, so once we return to our clubs, we will work on those tasks and strive to get called up to this team again.

MF #8 MATSUOKA Daiki (Sagan Tosu)
During this tour, our opponents had the upper hand in terms of the intensity to win the ball, the driving force to carry the ball upfront, and the ability to score goals. We did manage to apply pressure as a team and initiate the action when the passer was in open space. However, we must improve our individual abilities and polish our strong points in order to compete against the world. We also need to do a better job in communicating with each other. Once we return to our clubs, we will stay eager and work hard so that we can all return to this team in the near future.

FW #11 FUJIO Shota (Cerezo Osaka U-18)
We couldn’t find our pace in the first half and conceded a goal during that stretch. I was disappointing that I wasn’t able to score any goals during this tour. This tour has given me the opportunity to find out what I need to work on, so once I return to my club, I will train to improve on those aspects and become a player that can score goals even when the team is struggling.

Schedule

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

SportChain Cup UAE

Tournament Dates: Wed. 20 - Sun. 24 March 2019
Match Venue: The Sevens Stadium

Tournament Information