The 44th Toulon Tournament vs U-22 England National Team
2016-5-27 (Fri.) - 17:15   Playing Time: 80min. (40min.×2)
Stade Léo-Lagrange (Toulon/France)

U-23 Japan National Team　0-1 (0-1, 0-0)　U-22 England National Team

Score
15’　Goal against (U-22 England National Team)

Line-ups
GK: NAKAMURA Kosuke
DF: MITSUMARU Hiromu, UEDA Naomichi, VAN WERMESKERKEN Sai, KIDA Takuya
MF: YAJIMA Shinya, OHSHIMA Ryota, MINAMINO Takumi, IDEGUCHI Yosuke, NOTSUDA Gakuto
FW: ONAIWU Ado

Substitutes
GK: KUSHIBIKI Masatoshi
MF: HARAKAWA Riki, MAEDA Naoki
FW: TOGASHI Cayman, KAMADA Daichi

51'　ONAIWU Ado → HARAKAWA Riki
59'　YAJIMA Shinya → TOGASHI Cayman
67'　NOTSUDA Gakuto → MAEDA Naoki
67'　MITSUMARU Hiromu → KAMADA Daichi

Match Report

The U-23 Japan National Team, who are currently participating in the 44th Toulon Tournament, played against England at 17:15 local time on Friday 27 May (0:15 on 28 May Japan Time). England have won high praise from three victories in this championship.

ASANO Takuma had to leave the team after the third match on 26 May to join SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team). As MIURA Genta too could not join the bench due to injury, there were only 16 players available for the match. UEDA Naomichi had to play as a centre back on his own, with KIDA Takuya moving to the centre of the defensive line.

In the first half, Japan let England control the ball to a certain extent. This strategy was adopted because Japan had to play this game after a break of just one day, and they also had disadvantage from wind direction. Although England struck the opener from a penalty kick in the 15th minute, Japan stuck to their strategy.

Japan created some goal-scoring opportunities in the first half. After 25 minutes, ONAIWU Ado went close to the goal with a left-footed low shot, pressuring the opponent’s goalkeeper. In the 32nd minute, the team had a decisive moment. MINAMINO Takumi, who received a pass from NOTSUDA Gakuto, dribbled up to fire a shot with his left foot. The shot went slightly wide, skimming the crossbar, which brought applause from the local crowd. The 40-minute first half ended with the score 1-0.

After 51 minutes, in the second half, HARAKAWA Riki came off the bench to replace Onaiwu Ado. The team changed from a 4-4-2 system to a 4-3-3 one.

It was shortly after that when Notsuda reacted to a clear ball to take a shot with his strong left foot, only for it to hit the crossbar unfortunately.

In the 59th minute, TOGASHI Cayman came on to replace YAJIMA Shinya and play in the centre of the three forwards, while Minamino moved in from the centre to the left wing up front.

After 67 minutes, KAMADA Daichi substituted MITSUMARU Hiromu at left back and MAEDA Naoki replaced Notsuda. Japan changed its system to 4-2-3-1 with Togashi as a forward, Kamada just behind the strikers, and Maeda in the right side. IDEGUCHI Yosuke, who had played as a defensive midfielder in the centre in 4-3-3 system, moved to the left back to replace Mitsumaru.

Some of Japanese players had to play in unfamiliar positions due to injured players. Despite their lack of training in using multiple systems, the team took the initiative in the second half.

Japan lost the game against England 1-0. The ability to finish goals remained a problem. However, each player has improved himself through this tournament, and they have learned lessons from their losses in the south of France to prepare for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Coach and Players' Comments

TEGURAMORI Makoto, Coach
As it was the last of our four consecutive games, we decided to let the opponent control the ball at the beginning, which was our first attempt to do this in the championship. We stayed competitive as a team. So it was a shame that we conceded a goal from a penalty – an individual piece of skill. We created some goal-scoring opportunities in the first half, while English defenders were not ready for our agility. We decided to play more aggressively in the second half to accelerate our speed and keep possession. In terms of understanding tactics, we did well throughout the tournament in preparation for the Olympics. We’ll avenge our three defeats of this tournament in the Olympics.

DF #5  UEDA Naomichi (Kashima Antlers)
I have an impression that we kept conceding goals from careless mistakes in this tournament. So we must reduce our mistakes. Although we let the opponent strike the opener in the games we lost, we have to become strong enough to change matches afterwards. Otherwise, we cannot stay competitive against strong teams. We need to think about how to deal with this kind of situation in the future.

MF #8  OHSHIMA Ryota (Kawasaki Frontale)
I was looking for opportunities to counter-attack in the first half, but I couldn’t try enough. In the second half, we initiated attacks, while keeping possession through various systems. We needed more passes to change the opponent’s movement. As England sustained their lead, they didn’t play aggressively. It was physically tough to play four games with one-day breaks in between, but we prepared well for the coming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

FW #19  KAMADA Daichi (Sagan Tosu)
Through this tournament, I found that I could play well when I received the ball facing the goal. Having said that, I could have increased the number of times I did that move more. So I’d like to improve on that by controlling the speed and thereby increase the quality of my receiving the ball, while coordinating with my teammates even more.

Schedule

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