The second day of the JFA 6th O-40 Japan Football Tournament was held on Sunday 4 November and the four finalists were decided.

Teams in each group performed hard, aiming to get through to the final round. In group A, it was FC Funabashi (Host City/Chiba) who got the last laugh. After two minutes, the team struck the opener against BM-saga (Kyushu 2/Saga), who also had the possibility of advancing to the semi-finals. FC Funabashi continued to attack in the second half but once an opposing player was sent off from the game, they played with composure to keep their lead intact, as they succeeded in topping the group. Efini VANKEI.FC40 (Hokkaido 2), sought for a major comeback, which required them to score many goals to overcome the goal differentials. The team’s strong eagerness to score goals came back to haunt them, as they were countered by their opponents and lost the match, failing to reach the knock out stage in back-to-back years.

In group B, KYOTO MAYUMAMARO FC (Kansai 1/Kyoto) were two goals behind in the first half of the second match, but the team managed to level the match in the final five minutes, succeeding in earning one point. KYOTO MAYUMAMARO FC faced the final game with momentum and scored five goals in the first half. They won the match 5-0 and secured a spot in the final round. Last year, Sakai Phoenix Legend (Hokushinetsu/Fukui) failed to get through the group round despite registering two wins. They once again failed to advance despite going undefeated with a win and two draws. They will have to come back next year to make the final round.

A dramatic ending capped off the group C action. Morioka FC Masters (Tohoku 1/Iwate), who won their second match in a come-from-behind fashion with their tenacious defence and counter-attacks, led the way with Rashinban Club NAGOYA (Tokai/Aichi) and Football Club Seibudai Senior (Kanto 2/Saitama) trailing behind. Seibudai Senior was caught off guards at the start of the second half and conceded a goal, which was followed by two more goals as they were eliminated from the competition. In the game between Morioka and NAGOYA, Morioka struck the opener from a penalty kick in the second half. However, the match saw a dramatic turn of an event just before the final whistle. NAGOYA, who attacked fiercely, scored two electrifying long-distance shots in the closing minutes that not just turned the match around, but the rankings as well. With the come-from-behind victory, the Nagoya side earned their spot into the semi-finals.

In group D, the players of Ossandole Sapporo 40 (Hokkaido 1) were seen with a nervous face even after the match. As Okinawa Kaiho Club (Kyushu 1/Okinawa), who were one-point ahead of them, played their game at a different site, Sapporo had to focus on winning the match in front of them. With the team succeeded in building a positive momentum by grabbing a win against T・Dreams (Kanto 1/Tokyo) with the go-ahead goal just before the final whistle, they scored five goals in the first half of the third game. After finishing their match, they received the good news that Kaiho Club drew their match. As a result, Ossandole Sapporo 40 were able to improve their standings and grabbed their spot into the semi-finals for the first time.

On the final day of this tournament, FC Funabashi will face KYOTO MAYUMAMARO FC, while Rashinban Club NAGOYA and Ossandole Sapporo will meet at the semi-finals. The final will follow afterwards to determine the national champions.

Players' Comments

KUSAJIMA Takeshi (Efini VANKEI.FC40)
I thought we learned from our experience of playing the semi-finals last year, but I realise how tough this national tournament can be. A single play can change the game. In our final match, we were too keen to score goals, as we were desperate to improve our goal differences, but our eagerness to push forward allowed our opponents to counter us. Following last year’s success, we might have taken the group stage action for granted. Despite these unfortunate results and sadness, we are feeling right now, I think football is so entertaining. This tournament has seen higher competitions over the years and it made me realise how fun football can be.

TACHI Kota (KYOTO MAYUMAMARO FC)
Although we faced a tough stretch by trailing two goals in our first match, the fact that we managed to level the match has given us great momentum to earn the win in our final match and a place in the final round. I feel that I am learning about football through this championship. When facing former national team players and strong teams, it gives us the opportunity to learn their individual skills and how they play as a team. Now that we have succeeded in getting through to the next round, I will give my best and fight in behalf of the other teams who we fought in our group.

KAWASAKI Hidekazu (Morioka FC Masters)
That was very disappointing. After winning our second match we thought we can cruise through to the final round… However, we conceded two goals at the end of our final match. They were excellent shots, but I just wish they hadn’t happened in that timing. Our goal was to win the tournament. I just have to say that we weren’t strong enough. Although I am still in shock, this is another reason why football is so entertaining. Otherwise, I won’t be playing until this age. We will get continue to work hard so that we can come back here.

CHIBA Koji (Ossandole Sapporo 40)
I wasn’t sure how far we could go, after losing our first match, but we managed to perform well today. Although we struck the opener against one of the strongest teams, T・Dreams, when they rallied back, I thought they’d turn the match around, but we managed to hold onto our lead. We were in a group with many strong teams, but we have a superb dribbler at front, so we focused on our defence to create our chances. We managed to build a positive momentum today, so we’d ride that momentum and do our best in the next match.

JFA 6th O-40 Japan Football Tournament

Tournament Dates: Sat. 3 - Mon. 5 November 2018
Tournament Venue: ZA Oripri Stadium/ Ichihara Suporeku Park, Chiba
Tournament Information