With the FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019 fast approaching, the U-20 Japan National Team started its training camp in Chiba on Sunday 12 May.

After launching the team in February 2017 and winning their ticket to the U-20 World Cup through the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018, the U-20 Japan National Team has finalised their 21-man roster for the FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019 on Tuesday 7 May.

Five days following the announcement, nine players reported to the first day of training camp. Coach KAGEYAMA Masanaga mentioned regarding this training camp held in Chiba, “I would like to figure out the conditions of our players and have them prepared as much as possible.”

The players showed great intensity on the pitch as they went through passing drills and shooting drills. Despite having limited number of players, each player kept communicating with each other to work up a good sweat in the one-hour session.

At the evening, the remaining players who were involved in their club activities joined the team at the venue, as the entire U-20 Japan National Team assembled with a total of 21 players and 14 staffs.

On Monday 13, the team will conduct a training match against Ryutsu Keizai University, and the team will travel to Poland on the next day on Tuesday 14.

Once arriving to Poland, the team will continue to train ahead of their first group stage match against the U-20 Ecuador National Team, scheduled on Thursday 23.

Coach and Players' Comments

KAGEYAMA Masanaga, Coach
The purpose of this training camp in Japan is to give our players time to condition themselves. With the players coming from all sorts of teams, we also need our players to reset their minds and readjust to the strategies of the U-20 Japan National Team. That is why we have sent out films to each of our players to study beforehand on the technical aspects and team concepts. The film was created by our technical staffs to go over plays involving, ball possession, build-ups, attacking and defending. It was evident that the players who reported to our session today have seen the film, and we need all of our players to reset their mindset ahead of the world cup.

MF #16 YAMADA Kota (Yokohama F・Marinos)
I have always kept in mind how I would play for the U-20 Japan National Team, even during my training sessions and activities for my club team. I feel like my commitment to the team has been assessed, and I am very glad to be here. We will enter the U-20 World Cup with the intention to win the title, but first we must focus on how we will play at the group stage. I will play with great enthusiasm and play in behalf of all the players who weren’t selected but wished to be with the team.

FW #14 NISHIKAWA Jun (Toko Gakuen High School)
I currently play for four different teams, Toko Gakuen High School, Cerezo Osaka, Cerezo Osaka U-23, and the U-20 Japan National Team. Each team presents different challenges and learning experiences, and I feel very fortunate to be given such opportunity. For the national team, I will be playing a role either as a striker or a winger, so I hope to showcase my dribbling skills and passing skills, which are my strong points.

FW #20 NAKAMURA Keito (Gamba Osaka)
After arriving to the camp site, we conducted a light training session and managed to prepare ourselves ahead of the training match scheduled for tomorrow. I feel like I am in good condition and I have studied up on what the team needs me to do, so I hope to showcase that on the pitch. We entered a tough group at the U-20 World Cup, but the most important thing is to enter the first match in good condition to get ourselves off to a good start. It’s always great to set your goals high, but for now we will focus on winning our first match so that we can win through the group stage.

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