Russia Tour Friendly Match vs U-19 FC Rubin Kazan
Tue. 26 June 2018 Kick-off time 16:30 Playing time 90min (30min ×3)
Rubin Kazan (Kazan, Russia)

U-19 Japan National Team 3-0 (0-0, 1-0, 2-0) U-19 FC Rubin Kazan

Scores
40' KUBO Takefusa (U-19 Japan National Team)
80' KUBO Takefusa (U-19 Japan National Team)
90' ANDO Mizuki (U-19 Japan National Team)

1st period starting line-ups
GK: TANI Kosei
DF: SUGAWARA Yukinari, HASHIOKA Daiki, TANIGUCHI Hiroto, OGIWARA Takuya
MF: GOKE Yuta, FUJIMOTO Kanya, SAITO Mitsuki, ABE Hiroki
FW: TAGAWA Kyosuke, ANDO Mizuki

2nd period starting line-ups
GK: OSAKO Keisuke
DF: KAWAI Ayumu, ABE Kaito, KOBAYASHI Yuki, MIYAMOTO Toshiaki
MF: HORI Kenta, ITO Hiroki, KUBO Takefusa, YAMADA Kota, TAKI Yuta
FW: HARA Taichi

3rd period starting line-ups
GK: WAKAHARA Tomoya
DF: ABE Kaito, TANIGUCHI Hiroto, OGIWARA Takuya
MF: KAWAI Ayumu, FUJIMOTO Kanya, GOKE Yuta, YAMADA Kota, HORI Kenta
FW: TAGAWA Kyosuke, HARA Taichi

Substitutions
76' ABE Kaito → KOBAYASHI Yuki
76' TANIGUCHI Hiroto → HASHIOKA Daiki
76' OGIWARA Takuya → SUGAWARA Yukinari
76' HORI Kenta → TAKI Yuta
76' YAMADA Kota → ITO Hiroki
76' GOKE Yuta → SAITO Mitsuki
76' FUJIMOTO Kanya → MIYAMOTO Toshiaki
76' KAWAI Ayumu → ABE Hiroki
76' HARA Taichi → KUBO Takefusa
76' TAGAWA Kyosuke → ANDO Mizuki

Match Report

The U-19 Japan National Team left their lodging site late at night on Sunday 24 June, as they travelled 16 hours via plane and bus rides to the SAMURAI BLUE’s (Japan National Team) second match site Ekaterinburg to observe the match. Understandably some players seemed to be exhausted by the long transit, but that all changed once they arrived at the match venue. With an increased number of Japanese supporters showing support on site compared to the first match, the players indulged themselves in the unique atmosphere as they all seemed to be inspired by the SAMURAI BLUE’s performance.

On Tuesday 26 June, after sending off the squads of SAMURAI BLUE ahead of their match against Poland, the U-19 players conducted a training match against the U-19 FC Rubin Kazan team. It was the second time these two sides squared off each other, as the Japanese side recorded the victory in their first encounter. However, despite winning the match, their performance was not at the level they could be satisfied, so they entered this match with the intention to do a better job. The temperature rose up to 34 degrees Celsius at game time as Japan grabbed the initiative of the match through their quick transitions. In the 10th minute, defender SUGAWARA Yukinari delivered a cross towards ANDO Mizuki in the centre, who volleyed the ball, but his attempt went off the target. The players focused on what they’ve worked on during their training session the day before, “to show for the ball at all times.” Japan threatened the opposing goal by moving the ball and players around effectively. In the 27th minute, they carried the ball upfront through their passes and midfielder FUJIMOTO Kanya delivered a through ball to TAGAWA Kyosuke who made a quick turn before launching a shot. The shot was denied by the opposing goalkeeper and the first period of the training match ended scoreless.

Japan rotated the entire line-ups to start the second period, but they conceded a turnover in the early minutes from a careless pass. The opponents came close to capitalising this opportunity, but the final shot was off target. Japan responded by increasing their aggression in offence, as their forward HARA Taichi responded to a ball delivered from KUBO Takefusa before striking a powerful shot. His attempt did not find the back of the net, but it was enough to get the groove going for the Japanese side. In the 38th minute, Kubo fired a shot following a corner kick, which came close to finding the corner of the goal but was slightly off target. Japan kept on threatening the opposing goal as midfielder TAKI Yuta dribbled his way through the centre before leaving the ball to HORI Kenta in the right side, who delivered a cross towards the centre. Kubo was there to connect with this cross to give Japan the opening goal. The Japanese defence line displayed a solid performance to shut out the opponents as they managed the risks very well. Japan grabbed on to the initiative of the match and continued to press hard upfront as Taki was seen taking numbers of shots to threaten the opposing goal. The second period ended with a score of 1-0 in favour of Japan.

The third and final period saw the opposing side showing signs of exhaustion as Japan continued to show their dominance on the field. In the 67th minute, they combined well together to connect numbers of short passes in the central area, before Fujimoto broke through to create a one-on-one situation against the goal keeper, but the keeper showed a superb save to deny Japan from extending the lead. In efforts to level the match, the opposing side rallied back by applying pressure aggressively, but Japan calmly responded to the attacks. In the 75th minute, Kubo earned a foul in the penalty area and converted the spot kick himself to give Japan the two-goal lead. Japan gave up a critical turnover in the 83rd minute, as they lost possession of the ball right in front of their own goal. However, goal keeper WAKAHARA Tomoya came out with a fine save to bail Japan out of the situation. In the closing minutes of the match, Ando created numbers of chances by exploiting the space behind the opposing defenders. After failing to convert his opportunity in the 85th minute, Ando scored in the 90th minute with a brilliant loop-shot right before the final whistle, as the training match ended with a final score of 3-0.

After serving as the SAMURAI BLUE’s training partners, the U-19 Japan National Team will now return to their country. Although these types of approaches are common among the world’s powerhouses, it was the first time the JFA has conducted such approach. This tour has given the players of the U-19 Japan National Team a priceless experience and enormous inspiration, as they were given the opportunity to train with the players of the SAMURAI BLUE and watch the World Cup matches in first hand. These players will play in the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018, as well as the FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019, and hopes are high for them to potentially participate in the next FIFA World Cup. Their next scheduled activity will be another oversea tour in early September.

Coach and Players' Comments

KAGEYAMA Masanaga, Coach (U-19 Japan National Team)
It was the first time the JFA has dispatched a youth national team to the World Cup in order for them to serve as a training partner for the top team. As a coach, I am very pleased to be given such opportunity. The team will compete at the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 in October, to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019. We will continue to conduct our training sessions and training matches ahead of October. This tour in Russia has given us the opportunity to strengthen our team. These players are all working hard so that one day they can play in the World Cup. Through their observation of the top team’s training sessions and matches, our players were able to feel what it’s like to represent a country. They were also given the opportunity to actually play with and against the top team during the training matches conducted here in Russia. There is no doubt that these players were inspired through all these experiences. We just hope that four years from now, the players we have today will play in the FIFA World Cup Qatar and share their experience to the U-19 team saying, “I have also toured to Russia four years ago and dreamed of playing in the World Cup.” But for now, we will continue to work ahead of the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018. I would like to thank all the club teams, universities, and every staff member involved, for allowing the players to join our team and gain such priceless experience. Thank you very much.

GK #23 TANI Kosei (Gamba Osaka)
For me, the FIFA World Cup is the biggest goal. This time in Russia, not only was I given the opportunity to experience the World Cup, I got to interact with the players from the top team. I felt their responsibility and commitment to represent the country and it gave me a clear image of what it's like. The World Cup is such a great tournament, where the supporters and players are all playing in the match as one, giving the sense that the two countries are really battling it out. It made me want to play in the next World Cup even more. We managed to control the pace and win the match, but there will be no easy matches in the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018, so we must improve our quality and strengths, both as a team and an individual. We have one more tour ahead of the Championship in Indonesia, and we must all keep a sense of urgency. We have very limited time, but we all must improve ourselves through the competition among our own clubs and the national team.

DF #4 HASHIOKA Daiki (Urawa Reds)
I was very honoured and happy to be selected into the member of this tour. As a football player, playing in the World Cup is the ultimate goal, and to see the real deal in first hand should act as a great experience moving forward. After observing the three matches at the World Cup, it really made me want to play in it even more. The match between Spain and Iran had many players who plays in the top leagues of Europe, and there were so many things to learn from the match. It made me realise that we must heighten our quality in order to cope with the teams and the players at this level. It was such a great experience to watch the World Cup matches with my teammates while we were here in Russia, as the world class plays gave us great inspiration. Although we managed to win our match today, we lacked quality in the final third. We couldn’t create much goal scoring opportunities. We must train harder to improve our quality in front of the goal. In defence, the risks were well controlled, and it was great that we kept a clean sheet, but we gave up a critical opportunity from a simple passing error. This tour gave us the opportunity to train with the SAMURAI BLUE and made us want to play in the next World Cup even more. I would like to keep working hard at my club to improve myself so that I get called up again into the national team.

MF #10 ABE Hiroki (Kashima Antlers)
First of all, I would like to thank everyone for making this tour possible, and for giving me the opportunity to join this tour. Watching the World Cup with my own eyes and playing with the SAMURAI BLUE in real life gave me great knowledge and experience which will be a priceless asset for my football career. The fans and the supporters expressed their joy and tears with the players. It made me realise how wonderful football is as a sport and how it empowers us to influence so many people in such great ways. In our match against U-19 FC Rubin Kazan today, we were exhausted from the long travel and the hot weather didn’t help neither, but we managed to actively communicate with each other and fight through the entire 90 minutes. It gave us great confidence as a team and as an individual. Our opponents were also a great team as they fought hard in both matches against us and took the match seriously. Without them the matches wouldn’t have been as great, so we really thank them for their efforts. Through this tour, I got to see the sport as an observer and learned about the sport even more. I have always been in the playing side and except for our own trainings and training matches, I haven’t been in that position before, so it gave me a new perspective on football. It made me realise new aspects, gain more knowledge, and made me even more proud of the sport. I will return to my club, Kashima Antlers, and play hard for my team. I believe that my efforts will also benefit the Japan National Team.

FW #13 KUBO Takefusa (F.C. Tokyo)
I was looking forward to play for the national team, so I was very glad to be selected into this U-19 Japan National Team. We were given the opportunity to watch three matches of the World Cup, and the two matches of the SAMURAI BLUE gave me new perspectives as a football player and as a citizen of Japan. I strongly felt the urge to utilise this experience in the future. We were also given the opportunity to observe the match between Spain and Iran, but I was blown away by the pass works displayed by the Spanish side. I was also amazed by the physical strengths and quick transition showcased by our Asian rival, Iran. I am glad I got to experience the unique atmosphere of the World Cup in first hand. Even though I managed to score in our match today, I also found out many tasks I must work on. But overall, I am glad to contribute for our win. It was my first time playing in the U-19 category, but the players at this level actively communicated with each other on and off the pitch. Many players shared a good understanding of the strategies and it was very easy to play with them. Moving forward, we all must heighten our individual quality in order to improve the overall level of the team. We would like to utilise our experience from this tour in the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 and work hard for it.

Schedule

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