The U-19 Japan National Team, who will participate in the Bahrain U19 Cup, arrived in Bahrain to hold practice sessions. As the AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016 in October will be also held in this country, this tour is good preparation for the team ahead of the coming championship.

There will be a two-day break between each match, as it had been in the AFC Championship. Japan will meet three strong representatives from three continents – the Mali National Team on 22 March, followed by the host country Bahrain on 25 March, and the Mexico National Team for the final game on 28 March. 

The team arrived on 20 March, two days before the first game. The players focused on recovering from the long flight, doing some running in the training session. The following day, they did passing in 5-on-5 with a free player on the 38-metre-by 28-metre pitch, and moved onto practicing shots through combinations, in preparation for the coming first match against the Mali National Team.

They also went through set pieces and defensive positioning. Due to the J. League matches during the weekend, the rest of the players will join the team on the day of their first game. The players are communicating off the pitch as well, so that they can share their impressions and get good results and performances in preparation for the coming AFC U-19 Championship in October. 

Players' Comments

MF #8  KUBOTA Kazune (Kashima Antlers)
I joined the Bahrain tour to prepare myself for the AFC U-19 Championship in October. During the training session, we adjusted our condition for the game against Mali, going through combinations and set pieces in both attack and defence. As the accuracy of last passes and shots were not good enough, and also we couldn’t pass the ball around well while moving, we struggled to strike goals. So I’d like to share thoughts among the team in order to be able to play in a coordinated way. On this tour, I’d like to experience daily life in this country, as well as the football, ahead of the championship in October. 

GK #18  HIROSUE Riku (Aomori Yamada High School)
I’m very pleased to join the Bahrain tour. As we’ll play matches with two-day breaks just like the AFC U-19 Championship in October, not to mention playing on the same pitch, it’ll be good preparation. I’d like to play hard as a united team, so that we can finish this tour with positive results. The opening game against Mali tomorrow is essential, and I’d like to prepare well.

MF #17  MORISHIMA Tsukasa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
This tour is held in Bahrain, in which the final Asian qualifiers (the AFC U-19 Championship) will take place. To get though the qualifiers, this tour is extremely important. I’d like to get used to the environment as soon as possible, and prepare ourselves well, so that we can perform 100% and earn a victory against Mali tomorrow. Your support will be much appreciated. 

DF #4  OMINAMI Takuma (Jubilo Iwata)
First of all, I’m really glad to join this tour. We worked on tactics to understand them in detail today, and also checked defensive set pieces. I’d like to communicate with the players on and off the pitch, so that we can improve ourselves through the matches from tomorrow, focusing on good results and performances

Schedule

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