Prior to the first match of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Papua New Guinea 2016 on Sunday 13 November, the U-20 Japan Women’s National Team had their training in the morning of the 10th.

The humidity rose up to 80% in the morning, but it gradually went down before the beginning of the training session. Still under the scorching sun and sweltering weather in Papua New Guinea, they started their practice with pass and control exercises and move on to 5-on-5 and 9-on-9 possession drills. The wrapped it up with seven-a-side intrasquad scrimmages to end their morning training. Ahead of the tournament, all the players stayed focused and worked hard to improve every aspect of their game.

In the afternoon, the team were instructed about the tournament regulations and received accreditation cards to enter the venue by the organising staff of the FIFA. They are now getting ready for the upcoming competition step-by-step.

Later in the day, the U-20 Japan Women’s National Team met with the members of “SANAP WANTAIM” campaign sponsored by the UN women that work for gender equality in order to aide their efforts promoting safety for the women and children in Papua New Guinea. At the end of the meeting, they took a group photo and received t-shirts with the campaign message from the project members.

“SANAP WANTAIM” is the campaign which includes the message “stand-up” to end  the violence and discrimination towards women and children.

Women’s social status in Papua New Guinea is low, and the number of sexual crimes in the country has not decreased in recent years. These problems have affected the society adversely (referenced from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan). The U-20 Japan Women’s National Team have offered their support for this campaign hoping that the country will achieve making a safer society with gender equality.

Players' Comments

FW ＃18 UENO Mami (EhimeFCLadies)
In the training today, I was focusing more on the timing to move into the space behind defenders. Apart from pressing aggressively from front line, I want to contribute to the team’s victory by reacting well to the deep vertical passes and creating chances or scoring goals.

FW ＃11 KAWANO Juri (Waseda University)
Today we practiced thinking about the Nigerian players, our first opponents. I want to keep working on the image that we will attack their weak points, while receiving the ball near their goal. It is competitive just to be selected in the starting line-up, but I am personally aiming to tally five goals in the tournament. I will definitely try to score one in the upcoming match.

Schedule

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