The 44th Toulon Tournament vs U-23 Guinea National Team
2016-5-25 (Wed.) - 17:15   Playing Time: 80min. (40min.×2)
STADE ANTOINE BAPTISTE (Six-Fours-les-Plages/France)

U-23 Japan National Team   2-1 (2-1, 0-0)   U-23 Guinea National Team

Scores
3'   TOGASHI Cayman (U-23 Japan National Team)
10'   Goal against (U-23 Guinea National Team)
39'   MINAMINO Takumi (U-23 Japan National Team)

Line-ups
GK: KUSHIBIKI Masatoshi
DF: MITSUMARU Hiromu, UEDA Naomichi, MIURA Genta, VAN WERMESKERKEN Sai
MF: MINAMINO Takumi, HARAKAWA Riki, KIDA Takuya, MAEDA Naoki
FW: TOGASHI Cayman, KAMADA Daichi

Substitutes
GK: NAKAMURA Kosuke
MF: OHSHIMA Ryota, YAJIMA Shinya, NOTSUDA Gakuto, IDEGUCHI Yosuke
FW: ASANO Takuma, ONAIWU Ado

HT   MINAMINO Takumi → ASANO Takuma
52'   TOGASHI Cayman → NOTSUDA Gakuto
52'   VAN WERMESKERKEN Sai → IDEGUCHI Yosuke
64'   KAMADA Daichi → OHSHIMA Ryota

Match Report

The team played aggressively, and won a game for the first time in this Tournament. 

The U-23 Japan National Team, who are currently participating in the 44th Toulon Tournament, played against Guinea at 17:15 local time on Wednesday 25 May (24:15 on 26 May Japan Time).

Japan used a 4-4-2 formation in the previous two games, but 4-2-3-1 was used in this match. The game did not remain scoreless for long. In the third minute, the forward TOGASHI Cayman, who ran in front of the opponent’s defender, reacted to a cross from MITSUMARU Hiromu on the left wing and calmly struck a goal with his right foot.

Although Japan built a lead early on, the team unfortunately conceded a goal in the 10th minute. VAN WERMESKERKEN Sai reacted to a ball, which was aimed at the space behind Japan’s defensive line, and defended against the opponent’s forward to let the goalkeeper KUSHIBIKI Masatoshi catch it. However, the opponent got a slight deflection on the ball, which rolled into the goal.

Despite the fact the match was levelled 1-1, Japan continued to take the initiative. Japan kept going close to the goal, and struck their second goal in the 39th minute. The captain HARAKAWA Riki sent a forward pass to KAMADA Daichi, who was positioning just behind the striker’s position. Kamada passed the ball to MINAMINO Takumi, who took a shot with his right foot into the goal from the centre of the penalty area. The first 40-minute half finished at 2-1.

ASANO Takuma came off the bench at the beginning of the second half in order to replace Minamino to play up front, while Togashi moved to the left side.

After 52 minute, the coach TEGURAMORI Makoto sent more players onto the field. NOTSUDA Gakuto replaced Togashi for the second line on the left side, and IDEGUCHI Yosuke substituted Van Wermeskerken to play as a defensive midfielder with Harakawa. As a result, KIDA Takuya changed his position from a defensive midfielder to right back. 

In the 64th minute, the fourth substitute came onto the field. OHSHIMA Ryota came off the bench, replacing Kamada, to change the system to 4-3-3. After 71 minutes, the goalkeeper Kushibiki defended well under pressure, when facing 1-on-1. 

Japan attacked well by changing in the playing system and players’ positioning. Then in the 79th minute, MAEDA Naoki got through to the space behind the defensive line to fire a shot with his left foot. Asano also went close to the Guinean goal with a diving header just before the final whistle.

Due to some superb saving from the opponent’s goalkeeper, Japan could not add any more insurance. However, the team sustained their lead to earn their first victory in the championship. They will play their fourth match against England at 17:15 local time on Friday 27 May (24:15 on 28 May Japan Time). 

Coach and Players' Comments

TEGURAMORI Makoto, Coach
Although the players are becoming quicker and stronger in tough games, they had to continue concentrating until the final whistle in this game. We have been pursuing this toughness. However, we have to admit that our scoring ability after getting through the opponent’s defenders is lower than England, who scored seven goals against Guinea. We cannot be satisfied with ourselves when we’re trying to achieve something big internationally. It’s really important that we’re hard on ourselves for the future.   

GK #1  KUSHIBIKI Masatoshi (Kashima Antlers)
If we had discussed in detail in our practice sessions, we could have avoided conceding a goal. We’ll share details of decision making, so that the same thing won’t happen again. When I defended in 1-on-1 in the second half, I stayed calm, cooperating with my fellow defenders. We tend to concede goals from our own mistakes in this Tournament. As we haven’t let the opponent score in other ways, we’d like to work on defence as a team when under pressure. 

MF #14  MAEDA Naoki (Yokohama F・Marinos)
We could and should have won the previous two games. However, as we struck the opener early on in the game today, we could control the game a little more easily. Despite our victory, I’m not happy with my performance. I did deal with the ball in the first half numerous times, but not in the second half. And I failed a definite goal-scoring opportunity. I realised that I need to improve myself a lot more through games in this Tournament.

FW #20  TOGASHI Cayman (Yokohama F・Marinos)
Personally, I was determined that I’d work on scoring another goal straight away, even if I had scored one already. Despite our opportunities, we couldn’t add any insurance just like the game against Ghana on 11 May, and lost our stamina in the second half. I haven’t fixed that problem yet, to be honest. I’d like to prove that I can score in the coming game against England, so that I will improve myself once more in this Toulon Tournament.

Schedule

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