28 June. TEGURAMORI Makoto, the Coach of the U-23 Japan National Team, who qualified for the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, attended the official press conference prior to the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2016 match against the U-23 South Africa National Team. The match will take place at Nagano General Sports Stadium ALWIN. At the conference, Teguramori expressed his expectation: “We will show off our strong passion as U-23 Japan and take our power to the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.”

This match against South Africa is a simulation match of the first match of the Olympics against Nigeria for Japan, and this is the last international match held in Japan before setting off to Rio de Janeiro. For the Coach this is the final opportunity to check which players to select for the Olympics, and for the players this is the last chance to show their advantages to be called up. The final 18 squad members will be announced on 1 July. 

The team had the final session before the match at the match venue for one hour, and the team’s defender MATSUBARA Ken (Albirex Niigata) could finally join the team. They checked formation and building-up at first and then moved on to a 9-on-9 mini game and shooting exercises. Midfielder ENDO Wataru (Urawa Reds) who has been in different training due to an injury to his left elbow had separated sessions again. 

In the press conference, Teguramori said: “This is the last match that we play as the U-23 squad. After this the team will be divided into two, the ones who can’t go to the Olympics and another one who will have to respond to their expectation to win. I want the players to show us how much they grew up to be the champion of Asia, and also their potential to be more internationally stronger players in the future.”

South Africa qualified for the up-coming Olympics for the first time since 2000, and this will be their second time to play in the Olympics. Last December, the team beat the hosting country Senegal after a penalty shoot out 3-1 at the third-place match of the CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations, which was the final qualifier for the Olympics in Africa. Jody FEBRUARY, the team’s goalkeeper who blocked 4 shots in the penalty shoot-out, defender Rivaldo COETZEE, midfielder Gift MOTUPA, and forward Menzi MASUKU are in the squad for this match. 

The team started to get ready for the Olympics since the match against Brazil which they lost 1-3 in March. From 18-25 June, they played in the COSAFA Cup 2016 (tournament of Southern African teams) in Namibia and won the title after beating Lesotho, Swaziland, and Botswana.  

Teguramori talked about South Africa: “Their football style is powerful maximising their fitness and they have such strength to break through in the front line that seems to be beyond our prediction. This is a good chance for us to play against these attackers before the Olympics. We want to shut them up.”

Japan’s defender UEDA Naomichi (Kashima Antlers) said: “This is the last match in Japan to check which players to call up, so both as a team and as a player we want to make a good result and I hope that I will be selected for the final squad.” Midfielder ITO Junya (Kashiwa Reysol) also expressed his motivation: “I want to show my advantages and to contribute to making chances within the limited time.”

The match will kick off at 19:30 on 29 June.

Coach and Players' Comments

TEGURAMORI Makoto, Coach
This is the last match that we play as U-23 squad. I want the players to show us how much they grew up and also their potential for the future. Considering that South Africa had a long journey to come to Japan after a couple of matches, we have to take control running well throughout the match. I want the players to be more than happy to work hard to get the victory; I want them to have that level of motivation. They have to make a good result for us to head to the Olympics with confidence. The players show the value of the U-23 National Team very well and that made them to be the champion regardless of difficulties we had before, so I want them to express themselves as much as possible as one of the squad players. The Olympics shouldn’t be their goal or everything for them; I want them to keep working hard to lead the future of Japan’s football.

DF #5  UEDA Naomichi (Kashima Antlers)
We will play against an African team in the Olympics, and I expect African players to be characteristic form to extend their legs, so I want to check their approaches well in the up-coming match. After all, we want to make a good result.  While some players are missing due to injuries, I want to lead the defender’s line tomorrow. It will be the last match as U-23, so we will have to show how much we have grown up under our Coach Teguramori, and we also have to make a good result for him to be positive about us for the future. 

DF #6  HASHIMOTO Kento (F.C. Tokyo)
This time we had shorter time to prepare as a team but I think all of us have understood well about our team concept and what to do, so I’m not worried about combination. South African players have height and I expect them to pressure us a lot, so we want to respond to them with quicker prediction and positioning. As a player I want to show my advantages in intense moments and second ball. I played in the match against Ghana in May, and I believe that I have grown up since then, so I will show that aspect tomorrow. 

FW #16  ASANO Takuma (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)
This is the last domestic match before the Olympics, so we want to finish it with victory to be positive towards the Olympics. As a player, I want to contribute to the team by scoring and to make a good impression for the selection. I want to play in the Olympics, so tomorrow I will show my advantages well to be selected. I will get ready very well to show 100% of what I can do on the pitch tomorrow. I will do my best. 

Owen DA GAMA, Coach (U-23 South Africa National Team)
Since we will play against Iraq in the Olympics, this is very important opportunity for us to play against Japan, who beat Iraq in the final qualifier. Japan is the champion in Asia and I am impressed with their high level of strategic discipline and how much they improved themselves within these 3 years. Japan doesn’t concede many goals, and it is a difficult team for us to break through, so we kept working hard to get ready well as a united team. We have decided most of the squad players for the Olympics and we are in the final stage to settle our tactics. I am very much interested in how much we can do against Japan in the match tomorrow. 

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Schedule

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

KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2016

U-23 Japan National Team  vs  U-23 South Africa National Team
Wed. 29 June 2016 kick off 19:30 (tbd)
Nagano/General Sports Stadium ALWIN

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