On Tuesday 21 May, with just two more days until their first match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019, the U-20 Japan National Team took their time to walk around their hotel in the morning to visit the sceneries of Bydgoszcz.

Following their walk, the team held their meeting before lunch, and visited the match venue, Bydgoszcz Stadium in the afternoon. The players observed the atmosphere of the stadium, checked out the pitch condition, and walked through the locker room before heading over to their training field located just outside of Bydgoszcz to conduct a training session.

For the first time in this training camp, the training session was opened to the public and the media for the first 15 minutes. During that time, the players were seen thoroughly going over their warmup routines to stretch their bodies, followed by a conditioning drill where the players ran for three minutes to test their fitness level. The team then went through variations of passing drills before the session went behind closed doors. In the session that lasted for nearly an hour, the team worked to get the players on the same page before their first match of the tournament.

The FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland will kick-off on Thursday 23 May, and Japan will play their first match against Ecuador on that day (Friday 24, 3:30 a.m. Japan time).

Players' Comments

GK #1 WAKAHARA Tomoya (Kyoto Sanga F.C.)
I was given the opportunity to play in some of the matches during the final round of the Asian qualifiers held last year, but more than the joy I felt from winning the qualifiers, I vividly remember the bitterness I felt when my mistake costed the team a goal. If I am given the chance to play during this tournament, I will give my best and play in behalf of those members who we fought together, such as TANI Kosei (Gamba Osaka) and OSAKO Keisuke (Sanfrecce Hiroshima). For me this is my first World Cup. Until now, I have never been nervous, but I am gradually getting a sense of nervousness in a good way. Despite the nervousness I am feeling right now, I am still able to focus on our trainings, so I’ve been able to condition myself in a very good form. I hope to showcase a good performance so that I can spread the name of my club team to the world.

DF #4 SEKO Ayumu (Cerezo Osaka)
The World Cup is just about to begin, and I am looking forward to playing against the world’s best players. We have been able to prepare ourselves well until this point. As a centre half, my ability to hold off the highly talented South American players should play a key role in our way to victory. This is my only shot at the U-20 World Cup, so I will give my utmost efforts and leave no regrets. Especially for me, I remember the bitterness I felt after missing out on the U-17 World Cup in 2017 after sustaining an injury, so I will use that memory as my motivation to work even harder.

Schedule

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

FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019

Tournament Dates: Thu. 23 May - Sat. 15 June 2019

Group Stage:
Fri. 24 May 2019 03:30 (Japan time)
vs U-20 Ecuador National Team

Sun. 26 May 2019 22:30 (Japan time)
vs U-20 Mexico National Team

Thu. 30 May 2019 01:00 (Japan time)
vs U-20 Italy National Team

Tournament Information