U-20 Japan National Team　AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 Qualifiers
Group J Third Match vs U-22 China National Team
23 July 2017(Sun.) Kick-off 15:30 Playing Time 90min.（45min.×2）
National Olympic Stadium（Phnom Penh, Cambodia）

U-20 Japan National Team 1-2（0-2, 1-0）U-20 China National Team

Scores
40'　    WEI SHIHAO（U-20 China National Team）
45+1'　DENG HANWEN（U-20 China National Team）
54'　    ENDO Keita（U-20 Japan National Team）
 
Starting Line-ups
GK：KOJIMA Ryosuke
DF：FUJITANI So, ITAKURA Kou, NAKAYAMA Yuta, FUNAKI Kakeru
MF：SAKAI Daisuke, ICHIMARU Mizuki, HARA Teruki, ENDO Keita
FW：HATATE Reo, TAGAWA Kyosuke

Reserves
GK：HATANO Go, YAMAGUCHI Louis Takaji Julien
DF：YANAGI Takahiro, TATSUTA Yugo, KOGA Taiyo
MF：MIYOSHI Koji, HARIGAYA Takeaki, ITO Hiroki, MORISHIMA Tsukasa, TAKAGI Akito
FW：NAKASAKA Yuya, KOMATSU Ren

Substitutions
HT　HATATE Reo → KOMATSU Ren
51'　ICHIMARU Mizuki → ITO Hiroki
65'　TAGAWA Kyosuke → TAKAGI Akito

Match Report

U-20 Japan National Team faced the hosting country of the AFC U-23 Championship 2018, China, in their last match of the AFC qualifiers. Only needing a draw to qualify for the aforementioned championship as the top of Group J, Japan passed the ball around while analysing the opponents’ tactics and tried to exploit the gap in their defence to initiate effective attacks. Despite stringing passes fairly well in midfield, the young Japanese internationals failed to find open areas to send in an incisive pass upfront and were unable to create scoring chances.

Then, the momentum of the match shifted to U-20 China with over 6000 supporters coming to encourage their national team from the stands. U-20 Japan were now on the back foot with China exploiting the errors made by the Japanese squad and hitting them on the counter.

In the 40th minute,  China intercepted a long pass from right fullback ITAKURA Kou and surged up the right flank to send in a cross in front of the goal, where onrushing WEI SHIHAO controlled the ball well and directed the shot into right corner of the Japanese net to open the scoring for his side.

Furthermore, in the added time of first half, U-20 China off a short corner broke through the Japan’s defence once again from the right side. With some slack marking from the Japanese squad inside the penalty area, China strung quick passes and DENG HANWEN slotted a simple cross into the open net to extent the lead to 2-0 just before halftime.

U-20 Japan were now in a difficult situation needing at least two goals to force a draw and subbed in forward KOMATSU Ren from beginning of the second half. Additionally, ITO Hiroki was brought on after 51 minutes as a holding midfielder to spark the Japanese attacks and capitalise on his height advantage in set pieces. Then, in the 54th minute, FUJITANI So got past the opposing defence on the right flank with his pace and sent in a cross towards the near post, where Komatsu fired a shot at goal. Despite being initially denied by the Chinese goalkeeper, ENDO Keita quickly reacted to the loose ball to score the first for Japan and cut the deficit to a single goal.

In attempt to equalise, U-20 Japan send in TAKAGI Akito in the 61st minute as their final substitute on the pitch to further strengthen their attacks. Then, in the 80th minute, the Japanese squad fashioned a scoring chance off a set piece, where NAKAYAMA Yuta delivered a cross from right side that was met by Itakura. However, his header went wide and the game ended with a final scoreline of 2-1 in favour of the Chinese squad.

By virtue of losing to China, U-20 Japan ended in second place of Group J with two wins and one loss, but qualified for the AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 by being one of best six second-placed teams among the ten groups of the qualifiers.

Match Report

Coach's and Players' Comments

UCHIYAMA Atsushi,Coach
It was a match where we only needed a draw to top the group. Against China coming to grab the full three points, I instructed my players to take the initiative and play by calmly judging the situation and thinking about getting through the qualifiers during the match, before sending them onto the pitch. However, we lost the match 2-1, and I regretted the manner in which I instructed my players. From participating in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in May, my players have learned how to proceed and manage the game as well.

In order to compete effectively against the world-class teams, one must make an accurate assessment of oneself, teammates, opponents and game situations. Furthermore, one has to make the right decision and at the same time display one’s own style of football as well. If my players performed the way in which they did in the second half from the beginning of the match, then they would have been able to play football at a much higher level. However, I must add that my players really fought hard until the end. I sincerely appreciate their efforts as a coach and as a member of the national-team staff.

DF #3 NAKAYAMA Yuta (Kashiwa Reysol)
From the beginning of the match, we failed to cope with opponents’ intensity on the ball and were forced to spend time in defending. We couldn’t find our rhythm and conceded two goals before halftime as well. In the second half, their work-rate came down and the tempo of the game slowed down. However, we only scored a single goal and lost the match. From playing this match, I sincerely felt that I need to gain more strength on the ball and work on one-on-ones in addition to reading the game situations better to perform effectively.

MF #11 ENDO Keita (Yokohama F・Marinos)
I believe that the main reason why we lost against China was that we couldn’t take the initiative from the first half. Regardless of our performance, the result would not change and we must take it seriously and move forward. We further need to improve ourselves so that we will not lose the next time we face China.

FW #20 HATATE Reo (Juntendo University)
I am disappointed that we lost today. We should have performed our style of football as we did in the second half from the beginning. Personally, I couldn’t contribute to the team and it had become a disappointing championship for myself as well.

Schedule

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

AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 Qualifiers (Group J)

Date：15 July 2017(Sat.)～23 July 2017(Sun.)
Location：Cambodia

*Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams among all the groups in the qualifiers and hosts China (a total of 16 teams) will participate in the AFC U-23 Championship China 2018.

Fixtures, Results and Tournament Information
AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 Qualifiers - U-20 Japan National Team Squad Members