With the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 nearing its end, Coach KAGEYAMA Masanaga of the U-19 Japan National Team appeared in an official press-conference held on Wednesday 31 October, one day ahead of their semi-final match against the U-19 Saudi Arabia National Team.

The coach shared his aspiration to strive for the title with the remaining 21 players after losing two players, “We have already reset our minds and we are striving to win the title. We will prepare ourselves well to achieve our goal.”

The team conducted a training session in the evening. With Saudi Arabia showcasing great speed in their quarterfinal match against Australia, the coaches kept reminding the players, “Our opponents are going to be fast tomorrow!” as they conducted their sprints during the warm-ups. The players were seen conducting the session with great enthusiasm, but following the first 30 minutes, the session was held behind closed doors to go over their tactics to conclude their final preparation which lasted nearly 60 minutes.

The semi-final match against the U-19 Saudi Arabia National Team will kick-off at 19:30 (21:30 Japan time) on Thursday 1 November.

Coach's Comment

KAGEYAMA Masanaga, Coach (U-19 Japan National Team)
I felt a sense of relief after the quarterfinal match against Indonesia, but the players were telling each other that they were just getting started, so that made them look very dependable. We lost ABE and FUJIMOTO, but before they made their return to Japan, they left a message saying that they want us to win the title, and that should give the remaining players extra motivation. I have the impression that Saudi Arabia consists with a unique quality compared to the other teams we have faced thus far. That can be said in terms of their individual level and their strengths as a team. We will be facing strong opponents, but we must not back down against them and win the one-on-one battles. The players will be asked to enter the match with a strong intention and determination. This team has shown many possibilities depending on their opponents and matches. We have seen various players contributing for the team’s win and it gives me a sense that the team has great potential to strive for higher levels. I strongly believe that the playing time on the pitch is not something I give out. If the player is not ready to fight, they can not earn their opportunity. The players must earn their chances and display strong determination that they are the ones who can lift the team to the championship, even during the training sessions. It is important to showcase their own style of football, but at the national team, and in their future professional career, they must be able to make adjustments according to their surroundings. Even if we managed to play our football it is not acceptable to be saying, “We played well but lost the match.” We will analyse how the Saudi Arabia side approaches the match and showcase our strengths to strive for victory.

Players' Comments

DF #2 HIGASHI Shunki (Sanfrecce Hiroshima Youth)
I feel like we have managed to switch our mindset and prepare well ahead of our match tomorrow. Many people have reached out to us following the quarterfinal match and it made us realise just how many people are paying attention to our matches. The Saudi Arabian players are very athletic, and they are a well organised team. I have the impression that they are the strongest team among all the teams we have faced thus far. They have great speed in the flanks, but we can respond to them by applying pressure before the ball gets sent out and by maintaining appropriate distance from those players. Japan is capable of defending as a team, so I feel confident that we can adjust to them. We will enter the match as a team and win the match tomorrow.

DF #5 SUGAWARA Yukinari (Nagoya Grampus U-18)
I am glad that we were able to achieve one of our goal, which is to secure our spot into the FIFA U-20 World Cup, but we still have our other goal to win the title, so we have reset our mindset to achieve that goal. None of the players here are sitting on their laurels and I feel like we are united as one to win our match tomorrow. The process to get to this point was not a walk in the park, and we will certainly face another tough match tomorrow. It is important that we implement what we have learnt from the matches we have played up until this point and make adjustments accordingly. Although we have conceded goals in our first two matches, we have managed to keep clean sheets in our final group stage match and the quarterfinals, leaving us the impression that we have been improving as a team. We will enter the match with a stronger determination than Saudi Arabia in the match tomorrow.

MF #7 ITO Hiroki (Jubilo Iwata)
The players have reset their minds to defend the title and the team has managed to conduct the training session with a great atmosphere. Making adjustments from our first two matches, we were able to showcase a solid defence and smooth transitions to our offence in the match against Indonesia. We hope to heighten the level of those aspects and strive to defend the title. We have gone through our team’s approach against Saudi Arabia during the meeting held before the training session, so we are fully prepared ahead of tomorrow’s match. Saudi Arabia has great speed in the flanks, so we must make a collective approach to deal with them. Indonesia also had fast players in the flanks, but we managed to respond to them by blocking the central area, so we will keep communicating with the defence line to showcase a solid defence.

Schedule

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

AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018

[Top 4 teams will earn spot into the FIFA U-20 World Cup Poland 2019]
Tournament Dates: Thu. 18 October - Sun. 4 November 2018
Next Match: Semi-Finals Thu. 1 November 19:30 (21:30 Japan time) vs U-19 Saudi Arabia
Broadcasted live at CS tv asahi CS ch2
Tournament Information