International Friendly Match 1st Match vs U-17 USA Women's National Team
Wed. 21 March 2018 kickoff 20:00 45'x2
Premier Sports Campus, Tampa (USA)

U-17 Japan Women's National Team 0-0 (0-0, 0-0) U-17 USA Women's National Team

Starting Line-ups
GK: OHBA Shu
DF: TOMIOKA Chihiro, NAGAE Ibuki, GOTO Wakaba, ITO Sara
MF: MIZUNO Fukina, MATSUDA Shino, KINOSHITA Momoka, NAKAO Momo
FW: OSAWA Haruka, YAMAMOTO Yuzuki

Reserves
GK: MATSUI Rio, FUKUDA Shiori
DF: SHIBUYA Hana, GATTO Yukino, OKUMA Tamaki
MF: NAKAE Moe, TAKIZAWA Chise, ONUKI Sakura
FW: IWAMOTO Marino, HIRAI Amyu

Substitutions
HT OHBA Shu → MATSUI Rio
HT GOTO Wakaba → OKUMA Tamaki
HT ITO Sara → GATTO Yukino
64' MIZUNO Fukina → IWAMOTO Marino

Match Report

With the tension rising high, U-17 USA Women's National Team kicked-off the match at 20:00 local time.

Nine minutes into the match, NAKAO Momo forced a turnover before passing the ball to OSAWA Haruka in the right flank. Osawa dribbled up the field and took a shot but could not find the net.

In the 22nd minute, YAMAMOTO Yuzuki attempted a mid-range shot off a deflection from the goalkeeper but came short from scoring. Then, in the closing minutes of the first half, Nakao ran up the right flank after receiving a pass from ITO Sara. After connecting passes through Yamamoto and Ito, a cross was delivered to MATSUDA Shino, who connected with a header, but her attempt was saved by the opposing goalkeeper. The first half would end scoreless.

In efforts to change their rhythm, Japan made three substitutions to start the second half as MATSUI Rio, OKUMA Tamaki, and GATTO Yukino came off the bench. In the 61st minute, Yamamoto delivered a pass to Matsuda, who took a shot inside the penalty area and found the back of the net, but her attempt was called offside.

In the 70th minute, KINOSHITA Momoka received a pass from Nakao and took a shot. Her shot was once blocked, but she was able to take another shot off the deflection, however the shot hit the cross-bar. The match would end in a scoreless draw.

Japan will hold a training session on Thursday 22 March, followed by two more matches against U-17 USA Women's National Team on Friday 23 March and Sunday 25 March.

Players' Comments

GK #21 MATSUI Rio (Fujieda Junshin High School)
It was my first match as a member of the U-17 Japan Women's National Team, and it was my first match I’ve played against a foreign team. Their speed, physical strength, and the power in their offence, were all something I’ve never experienced in Japan. With that being said, I was able to cover my teammates in case of a break away, and I was able to play physical to defend the goal in loose-ball situations. However, with so many physical players on the opposing side, there were times where I couldn’t react to cross balls. For the next match, I’d like to play aggressive and challenge those balls. Playing against the US made me realise that I need to heighten the quality of my daily trainings. I will keep in mind how the US team plays and always visualise playing against them when I train.

DF #2 TOMIOKA Chihiro (JFA Academy Fukushima)
Throughout the match we were overwhelmed by our opponent’s speed and power. We couldn’t play our game at first, but after we had a chance to talk to each other at halftime, we managed to make the adjustments and create chances. But in those opportunities, we couldn’t capitalise, so we need to combine more to be able to convert those chances. We also need to work on our defence. We have to be more decisive on where we want to press as a team, and our line control has to improve. In order to do so, we must talk to each other more. We have two more matches against the US, so we will improve on what we lacked today and start implementing them from our daily routine.

DF #4 NAGAE Ibuki (Fujieda Junshin High School)
From what our coach has told us and our previous encounter with the US team, we knew going into the match that hey have the advantage in size and speed. So, we wanted to utilise our strengths, which are quick decision makings and techniques. We were a little jittery the first half and could not play our game, but in the second half, we managed to keep possession and play in a good rhythm. There were times we came close to giving up a goal, but we kept talking to each other and played physical defence to keep the clean sheet. We only have two more matches against the US team, so we want to play with all we got and really focus on winning those matches. We will work as a team to prepare for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018.

Schedule

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