With the FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019 scheduled to kick-off on Friday 7 June, the Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women’s National Team) has been conducting a training camp since Wednesday 22 May in Chiba.

On the third day of the training camp, the team held a two-part session on Friday 24. The first half of the session took part in the morning where the team focused on conditioning menus, followed by the second half held in the afternoon where the team went through drills with greater intensity.

Ahead of the training session in the morning, Coach TAKAKURA Asako told her players, “Japan is not the kind of team that relies on speed and power to score goals. We rely on ball possession and ball movements to score our goals.” The coach went onto go over the key points to create space, stay ahead of the opponents, and find the right timing to make the move. During the first half of the session, the team was seen going over their fundamental skills, such as passing, ball control, and possession, to polish the techniques and decision makings of the Nadeshiko Japan. The team also conducted shooting drills from distance, as Coach Takakura explained her approach, “If all of our players are capable of hitting the target from distance, it makes our runs into the penalty area more effective.”

The second half of the session held in the afternoon focused on drills that saw players going against each other, where the team went through variations of drills with different numbers of players involved. The drill started from one-on-ones, and gradually increased the number of players involved, until they concluded with a 10 vs 10 drill using half of the pitch to get their game intuition ready.

Also, this day was the team’s youngest member, ENDO Jun’s 19th birthday, as a birthday cake was presented by the media staffs after the training session. After getting celebrated by her teammates at night, Endo shared her aspiration for the upcoming year, “I would like to achieve great results with this team, and it make it a wonderful year.”

The Nadeshiko Japan will continue to train in Japan until Sunday 26.

Players' Comments

GK #1 IKEDA Sakiko (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies)
We would like to utilise this camp to go over what we have been working on in the past, while picking up our conditions. The team has been able to turn on our focus when needed and the there is a positive vibe surrounding us right now. As a goalkeeper, one of my responsibilities is to coach the team from behind and I am always keen on staying vocal on the pitch. The three goalkeepers all have different traits, and I feel like my strong point is in my ability to coach the team and help the team in the build-up plays, so I hope to showcase my strengths to help the team win matches.

DF #16 MIYAGAWA Asato (Nippon TV Beleza)
With the World Cup just around the corner, we are telling each other to stay focused so that we can prepare ourselves in the best way possible. Just how I was when I was little, I believe that there are many kids out there dreaming of playing in the World Cup, so I hope to become a good role model for them.

MF #7 NAKAJIMA Emi (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
With this being my first World Cup, I am fully focused on helping the team win the title. During our training session, we talked with each other to get ourselves on the same page. I want as many people as possible to watch the World Cup and cheer for us. In order to make that happen, we must perform in a way people would want to watch the match and support us. We will give our best in each of our matches while striving for the one big goal.

FW #20 YOKOYAMA Kumi (AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies)
We hope to get united as a team ahead of our first match of the World Cup. By training with the men’s team, it gave us the opportunity to simulate the speed and power of the teams abroad and it gave us a unique experience to prepare for the tournament. Missing the Olympics Games at Rio de Janeiro really had a huge impact on women’s football in Japan, so we feel obligated to earn positive results at this World Cup. With many young players on this roster, it is our job to get the team motivated and make this a joyful experience.

Schedule

Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women’s National Team) Squad, Schedule

FIFA Women's World Cup France 2019

Tournament Dates: Fri. 7 June - Sun. 7 July 2019

Group Stage:
Tue. 11 June 2019 01:00 (Japan time)
vs Argentina Women's National Team

Fri. 14 June 2019 22:00 (Japan time)
vs Scotland Women's National Team

Thu. 20 June 2019 04:00 (Japan time)
vs England Women's National Team

Tournament Information