The Japan Football Association (JFA) will hold the "U-16 International Dream Cup 2016 JAPAN Presented by JFA" from Wednesday 22 June in Tottori. Hungary, Mali and Mexico assemble in Tottori for this year's tournament, which was newly established last year. Here we introduce Mali and Mexico in this issue.

U-16 Mali National Team

Mali's senior national team have never played against Japan yet.  Mali's visit to Japan is the second time since their U-23 squad faced U-23 Japan National Team in an international friendly in 2004. Mali are one of the world's powerhouses in underage categories as they claimed runners-up in the FIFA U-17 World Cup and reached third place in the FIFA U-20 World Cup last year. Their attacking ability with African physical prowess is a must-see.

Jonas Kokou Komla, Coach of U-16 Mali National Team Comment
First I want to appreciate the invitation from the Japan Football Association. It's going to be a great opportunity to experience Japanese culture and their football that have showed rapid progress in the world. And battles against a different style of football other countries have must give our young players a further experience.

U-16 Mexico National Team

The U-23 and U-15 Japan National Teams met Mexico National Teams this year. Although both U-23s and U-15s lost 2-1 to Japan in a friendly in March and in the Delle Nazioni Tournament in April respectively, the Mexican sides are world's top contenders in each category as they won the 2012 London Olympics and reached the last four in the FIFA U-17 World Cup last year. The team visiting Japan this time have players who play for an academy of Club America, who have taken part in the FIFA Club World Cups several times as well as for that of Pachuca.

Enrique Echeverria Perez, Coach of U-16 Mexico National Team Comment
We are looking forward to taking part in this tournament. Playing in Japan is always our great pleasure. For young Mexican players to be successful, this kind of tournament is very important. When playing in the future World Cup, the players have got to know different playing styles of other countries and actually cope with them. It's very beneficial to play against countries from another continent. We are thankful to the Japan Football Association for the invitation and their effort and courtesy to host this great tournament.

Schedule

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