On Tuesday 5 November, coach MORIYASU Hajime of the U-22 Japan National Team announced the team roster for their match against the U-22 Colombia National Team at the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2019 (17 November, Hiroshima). The Japanese coach shared his aspiration ahead of the match, “With this being the team’s first international friendly match played in Japan, we hope to showcase the team’s progress at Hiroshima.”

The squad announced by coach Moriyasu included players who attended the team’s tour to Brazil last month, such as MIYOSHI Koji (Royal Antwerp FC), NAKAYAMA Yuta (PEC Zwolle), and OSAKO Keisuke (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), while MAEDA Daizen (CS Maritimo) and IWATA Tomoki (Oita Trinita) made their return to the team since taking part of September’s tour to North and Central America.

Also, three players from the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) were listed, as ITAKURA Kou (FC Groningen), KUBO Takefusa (RCD Mallorca), and DOAN Ritsu (PSV Eindhoven) made the team. Coach Moriyasu mentioned about his selection, “This is the U-22 Japan National Team’s best member at the moment. We will prepare ourselves in the best way possible ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, and we hope to use this opportunity to showcase our team’s progress.”

At the press conference, JFA Technical Director SEKIZUKA Takashi also took the podium, as he mentioned, “This will be the first time for the U-22 Japan National Team to play in Japan, and with their matches taking place at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two cities where the atomic-bombs were dropped, we are launching a project named ‘BLUE PEACE DAYS’ at the two matches. We hope to unite the people of Japan ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and strive towards our goal of winning the gold medal.”

Ahead of the matches, coach Moriyasu stated, “We hope to take this time to rethink about the meaning of world peace and share the same time with our supporters.” The coach continued to share his aspiration, “We will give our best efforts to make our supporters happy and leave everyone with a smile through our performance.”

The team will be assembled in Hiroshima on Monday 11 November to hold a training camp ahead of their match against Colombia on Sunday 17. The team is also scheduled to play a training match against Sanfrecce Hiroshima on Thursday 14.

Comment of Coach MORIYASU Hajime

We are grateful to be given this opportunity to face a world powerhouse like Colombia at the KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP. The U-22 Japan National Team has mainly played overseas, and with this being the team’s first international friendly match played in Japan, we hope to showcase the team’s progress at Hiroshima. The team is currently preparing for the Tokyo Olympics, and with the Olympic games being known as the celebration of world peace, we will be playing our international friendly matches at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We hope to take this time to rethink about the meaning of world peace and share the same time with our supporters. We will give our best efforts to make our supporters happy and leave everyone with a smile through our performance.

Schedule

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

U-22 Japan National Team vs U-22 Colombia National Team
Match Date: Sun. 17 November 2019 12:50
Match Venue: EDION Stadium Hiroshima, Hiroshima

Match Information