2016 SBS CUP International Youth Soccer 1st Match vs U-19 Costa Rica National Team
2016-8-11 (Thu.) - 17:20   Playing Time: 80min. (40min.×2)
Fujieda Sports Complex Park (Fujieda/Shizuoka)

U-19 Japan National Team   0-1 (0-0, 0-1)   U-19 Costa Rica National Team

Score
61'   Goal against (U-19 Costa Rica National Team)

Line-ups
GK: KOJIMA Ryosuke
DF: HASEGAWA Takumi, HAMA Taiyo, SUGIOKA Daiki, KOGA Taiyo
MF: SUGA Daiki, HARA Teruki, KAJIYAMA Kanta, YASUI Takuya
FW: IWASAKI Yuto, YOSHIHIRA Tsubasa

Substitutes
GK: HIROSUE Riku
DF: NISHIMOTO Takanobu
MF: HARIGAYA Takeaki, NODA Kazuki, TAKAHASHI Issei
FW: NAKAMURA Shunta, TAGAWA Kyosuke

51'   YOSHIHIRA Tsubasa → NAKAMURA Shunta
56'   KAJIYAMA Kanta → HARIGAYA Takeaki
68'   SUGA Daiki → TAGAWA Kyosuke
74'   YASUI Takuya → NODA Kazuki

Match Report

The U-19 Japan National Team played against the U-19 Costa Rica National Team on Thursday 11 August in the SBS Cup.

From the opening minutes in the first half, Japan were in an attacking mode, robbing the ball from Costa Rica from their collective defensive plays. They created some shooting chances as YOSHIHIRA Tsubasa and IWASAKI Yuto got behind Costa Rica’s defensive line. Yet, Costa Rica, who fell to Japan in June in a tournament in the United States, got the ball back with their physical defence and tried to attack into the Japanese territory dribbling.

The first half ended scoreless and in the second half, Japan took the early initiative. Iwasaki took a mid-range shot just outside of the box, yet it hit the goal bar. The deflected ball seemed to cross the goal line, but the goal was not awarded.

In the 56th minute, Costa Rica, stealing the ball in their own territory, sent a long ball into the opposing half, where Japan were late to take care of it. They fired a shot deflecting off a Japanese defender and into the net. 

Now trailing, Japan attempted to equalise by attacking in the opponents’ half, but they lacked accuracy in their final passes and plays in the box and weren’t able to put their shots into the net. Moments before the final whistle, late substitute HARIGAYA Takeaki tried to score directly from a free kick, but it was stopped by the goalkeeper. Japan dropped their first game 0-1.

Japan will take on Shizuoka youth on Friday 12 August in their second game.

Players' Comments

GK #1  KOJIMA Ryosuke (Waseda University)
We had some difficulties as we played our first game, but we were able to get in the game fairly well from the first half. While we had a good rhythm and created some chances, we didn’t have enough quality in the box and couldn’t score. It left us issues we have to reflect on. Also, we had a difficult time not being able to score a goal. We weren’t able to stop our opponents’ attacks with resilience and ended up giving up a goal. So we want to improve ourselves, playing our defence with more purpose. We want to have good preparation and win the remaining two games and ultimately the championship.

DF #3  KOGA Taiyo (Kashiwa Reysol U-18)
As we finished our first game, I strongly felt that we are not going to win unless we improve the quality of our finishes, no matter how well we perform our game, both offensively and defensively. Also, we showed that we weren’t tight enough against the opponents and strong enough competing for the ball. So we would like to improve on those and play better going forward.

MF #16  HARIGAYA Takeaki (Shohei High School)
I played my first national team game today. It felt great that I experienced the unusual atmosphere that I cannot feel at my club. It was also good that I was able to show the high-quality training that I went through. As a team, we would like to sort out the issues found in today’s game and make the necessary adjustments prior to the match against the U-18 Shizuoka Selection Team.

FW #18  SUGA Daiki (Consadole Sapporo U-18)
We had some scoring chances. Yet, we couldn’t score and ended up losing today. That’s absolutely frustrating. Personally, I dribbled past them a few times but lacked the accuracy in the box. I couldn’t score or create good goal-scoring opportunities. That was disappointing as well. But we have two more games, so I want to showcase my strength, contributing to the team and ultimately win the championship.

Schedule

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