In the evening of Thursday 23 August, the U-21 Japan National Team held their final tune up session at Jakarta ahead of their round of 16 match against the U-23 Malaysia National Team, scheduled the next day.

The training was held at the sub-ground of the tournament’s main stadium where both the opening and closing ceremony takes place. The men’s football team has been conducting their matches away from Jakarta, as the team travelled from one stadium to another, while staying at different hotels as they travelled. And because of their traveling schedule, the team has not been able to indulge themselves in the “Largest Sports Event in Asia.” So, on this day, they were given the opportunity for the first time to experience the unique atmosphere of the Asian Games where hundreds of athletes and staffs from different counties interacted in front of their own eyes.

As Coach MORIYASU Hajime encouraged the players, “Let’s get together and put in the best possible training today,” the team were seen starting the session by warming up and passing the ball. The players then worked on set-plays, followed by an individual shooting drill to make sure of their own feels of the shots. The pitch condition of the training ground was kept in great condition, and team captain, MIYOSHI Koji shared his satisfaction on their final tune-up session, “We can now enter the match with a great image.”

After the training session, Coach Moriyasu, who turned 50 on this day was presented with 50 roses from the Japanese media personals. After few shots of photos were taken, the players celebrated their coach’s birthday by dumping ice water over his head. Drenched in water, the coach shouted out, “Let’s get a win tomorrow!” to fire up the players’ enthusiasm.

Four matches of the round of 16 were conducted on this day, as Syria, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Korea Republic have made it through to the quarterfinals. Ahead of their match against Malaysia, Coach Moriyasu kept his alert high, “We must be aware of their sharp counter attacks,” while ITAKURA Kou also mentioned, “We must prepare ourselves way ahead of our opponents and defend in good shape.” In offence, MAEDA Daizen anticipated to convert his opportunities as he stated, “I have a clear image.”

With their advancement to the quarterfinals at stake, the U-21 Japan National Team will face the U-23 Malaysia National Team at Patriot Stadium in Bekasi, on Friday 24 August with a kick-off time of 19:30 local time (21:30 Japan time).

Coach and Players’ Comments

MORIYASU Hajime, Coach (U-21 Japan National Team)
I am very grateful to be given the opportunity to spend my birthday with my team. (After winning their match against Korea Republic) Malaysia should be filled with confidence right now. Their players have great speed and they all individually have the ability to break through at any given moment, so we must be aware of their fast breaks. However, we must not be too passive and showcase a fighting attitude that overwhelms our opponents. I hope every player can play up to their full potential and play with no hesitation.

GK #1 KOJIMA Ryosuke (Waseda University)
One’s birthday is a special day, and we are all happy for our coach. When he shouted, “Let’s get a win tomorrow!” while he was all soaked in water, it really pumped us up ahead of our next match. Malaysia will pounce on the smallest mistakes we make, so we must manage our risks even when we are attacking. In order for us to do so, we must keep communicating for the entire 90 mintues. One small mistake can cost the game from now on, so we must keep our focus and anticipate to convert our chances when we have one.

MF #10 MIYOSHI Koji (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo)
The team is very focused right now. We were able to gain great momentum today, so we hope to give our coach a belated birthday present tomorrow. We are finally here at the knockout stage. In the match against Malaysia, we must possess the ball while anticipating to exploit the space behind our opponents and create our chances. We hope to make a deep run with these 20 players. Tomorrow will be our first challenge at this final round.

Schedule

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

The 18th Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Palembang

Tournament Dates: Sat. 18 August - Sun. 2 September 2018

【Men's】Round of 16
Fri. 24 August 21:30 [Japan Time] vs U-23 Malaysia National Team

Tournament Information