The 51st Dusseldorf International Youth Football Tournament, in which the Japanese high school selection team will compete, will kick off from the 17th April (Thursday).
The Japanese team arrived on the night of the 13th April (Sunday) and made their final tuneups for the tournament.

Monday, 14th April  Training match　

Japan high school selection team 2, MSV Duisburg Youth 1 (0-1 in the first half, 2-0 in the second half)

Scorers
28th Goal against
69th NAKANO Katsuya (Kyoto Tachibana High School)
86th ISHIKAWA Daichi (Mito Keimei High School/Toin Gakuen Yokohama University)

One day after their arrival in Germany, the team held a practice at Esprit Arena in the morning of the 14th April (Monday). Dusseldorf is a town that is said to have four seasons even in one day around the time of a year, and in fact the team was forced to work out in the unstable weather with occasional rains, blowing winds and chills.
The Japan team played a pair of 45-minute training matches against the MSV Duisburg Youth (Germany) from 3 p.m.
The Japanese players weren’t in their perfect shape due to the long flight and jet lags, but they still managed to earn a 2-1 win.

Tuesday, 15th April Training match

Japan high school selection team 2,  F.C. Koln Youth 4 (0-1 in the first period, 2-1 in the second period, 0-2 in the third period)

Scorers
29th Goal against
42nd ISHIKAWA Daichi (Mito Keimei High School/Toin Gakuen Yokohama University)
44th Goal against
58th SAKA Keisuke (Yokkaichi Chuo Technical High School/Juntendo University)
65th Goal against
79th Goal against

While the temperature was a little chilly at 9 degrees, Japan played three 30-minute training matches against F.C. Koln, one of the best teams in the German youth league. Meanwhile, Nagasawa Kazuki, who is set to play for Koln this season, visited to observe the games. Japan ended up losing 2-4, but each player seemed active to showcase themselves in the final tuneups before the tournament.

Last year, Japan earned its first-ever championship. They will enter the tournament against Germany on the 17th April (Thursday), looking to repeat the title.

Schedule