On Tuesday 4 June, the U-22 Japan National Team faced the U-22 Chile National Team in their second match of the 47th Toulon International Tournament 2019 held in France. Japan went on a scoring spree to mark five goals in the first half, earning a 6-1 victory to record their second consecutive victory at the tournament.

Following their 2-1 victory over the three-time defending champion England, Japan made eight changes to their line-up in the match where they entered with a two-day rest. Starting in goal was YAMAGUCHI Louis Takaji Julien, along with the three defenders, OMINAMI Takuma, OKAZAKI Makoto, and SHIIHASHI Keiya. While TANAKA Shunta and KO Takahiro were named as the defensive midfielders, SOMA Yuki and KAWAI Ayumu were positioned in the flanks. It was HATATE Reo playing as the lone striker with IWASAKI Yuto and MITOMA Kaoru positioned just beneath him.

Japan started early, as Mitoma captured the opening goal in the sixth minute with the assist from Kawai. Hatate followed in the 12th minute, when he converted the cross delivered by Soma from the left side.

With the team getting off to a good start, Japan converted another opportunity created in the 18th minute, when Hatate reacted to the through ball delivered by Mitoma before striking a shot that captured the net. Despite conceding a goal in the 35th minute from a defensive error, Iwasaki recorded two goals in the closing minutes of the first half to enter halftime with a dominating lead of 5-1.

The Japanese defence continued to show its efficiency in the second half, as they kept away the Chilean offence from creating major opportunities. Conversely, Japan managed to carry the ball into the attacking third in many occasions. In the 62nd minute, Hatate received the ball outside the penalty area before striking a shot from mid-range to complete his hat-trick.

MATSUOKA Daiki, ITO Tatsuya, and KOMATSU Ren came off the bench in the second half and showcased their colour to add depths to the team. A close opportunity was created by the Chilean side at the end of the match, but Japanese goalkeeper Yamaguchi made a fine save to finish off the match.

By defeating Chile, who has won over Portugal in their first match, Japan moved into the top spot of the group to get one step closer to advancing into the semi-finals.

Match details

Coach and Players' Comments

YOKOUCHI Akinobu, Acting Coach
We have been preparing ourselves to win the second match, so I am very happy with this result. The players ran hard and fought well until the end. Anything can happen in football, and if we have conceded the opening goal, the result could’ve gone the other way around. Our initial goal is to advance to the semi-finals, and if we lose our third match, we’re not sure what would happen, so we will prepare ourselves well to win the next match.

MF #8 MITOMA Kaoru (University of Tsukuba)
I am glad we were able to win the match. I entered the match with the intention to work together with the other two players upfront and create plays that threatens the opposing goal. It was great that we managed to score the opening goal early, but we saw many flaws in the second half, so we need to make the necessary adjustments ahead of our next match.

MF #13 IWASAKI Yuto (Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo)
To be honest, I am truly happy to win the match. The opponents came out apply aggressive pressure, so we focused on making quick decisions and to work closely with our attacking players. In the scene where I scored the goal, my teammate sent me a perfect delivery, so I just had to get the ball across the goal line. Each day has been very stimulating, and we hope to return home with the tournament title.

FW #11 HATATE Reo (Juntendo University)
With this match being a must win match for us, I am glad I was able to earn results to help the team win, especially after missing out on the first match. As a forward, I focused on controlling the ball upfront and creating goal scoring plays at the final third. That mindset has allowed me to score those goals.

Schedule

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

The 47th Toulon International Tournament 2019

Tournament Dates: Sat. 1 - Sat. 15 June 2019

Group Stage:
Sat. 1 2019, 22:05 (Japan Time)
vs England National Team

Tue. 4 June 2019, 23:05 (Japan Time)
vs Chile National Team

Sat. 8 June 2019, 00:05 (Japan Time)
vs Portugal National Team

Tournament Information