The FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022™, in which the U-17 Japan Women's National Team will compete, kicked off on 11 October. The tournament, which will be held in Bhubaneswar, Goa and Navi Munbai, entered the competition period on Saturday 8 and the “Team Arrival Meeting” was held on the same day. The team received a welcome speech from a FIFA tournament representative, followed by a video presentation on anti-doping, safeguarding, and a lecture on the Laws of the Game from a referee. Photographs and videos to be used in the tournament were also taken on this day, as the players engaged in a variety of activities with their usual cheerful smiles, despite the increasingly tense atmosphere of the tournament.

An official press conference was held at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the venue for all of Japan's group stage matches, on Monday 10, with Head Coach KANO Michihisa and captain NAKATANI Rina (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls) on stage. Coach Kano shared his aspiration, “Since we launched the team, the players have set this tournament as their goal and have been working hard towards it. We are very grateful to be given the opportunity to challenge ourselves. Each of the three teams we will be competing against in the group stage has its own strong points, but we are well prepared for the challenges we will face. The players and staff will work together as a team, and we will be aggressive, tough, and hard-working in each of our matches. Nakatani also shared her thoughts on the three group stage matches and the tournament, “I'm really looking forward to playing against the three teams (Tanzania, Canada and France). I am especially looking forward to the match against France, which we played in a friendly over the summer, and I hope to win again. I hope that this tournament will be an opportunity to further boost women's football around the world.” The team also visited the stadium on this day, as the players walked around the pitch to check the feel of the turf and the atmosphere of the stadium, raising the anticipation for the match even higher.

Training also started on the competition's training ground, in which the players showed great enthusiasm, as coach Kano later reflected, “The training was so motivating and powerful that any one of these players could have started in a match right away.”

The players are preparing day by day, with a sense of gratitude towards the staff at the hotel and training venue, the many people who organise the event and the local volunteers. The U-17 Japan Women's National Team will kick off the action at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022™ with a group stage match against the U-17 Tanzania Women's National Team, scheduled on Wednesday 12 at 20:00 (23:30 Japan time). The match will be broadcasted live on J SPORTS 2 and will be streamed live on J SPORTS On demand.

Players' Comments

DF #3 OKAMURA Raika (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies Youth)
We have trained a lot and learned many things since arriving in India. With each practice, it feels like we are demanding more and making more compliments to each other, which is a sign of better teamwork. I feel nervous and excited that we are getting closer and closer to our first World Cup match. I want to play to my strengths, contribute to the team and return to Japan with a smile on my face.

DF #5 OYA Sakura (Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara Due)
I am getting used to the environment in India and feeling more and more excited towards the World Cup. The team is also getting stronger through the meetings and training sessions. I think the World Cup is a place where we can play serious matches against countries we do not usually play against, and where we can surprise the world with our football. We want to focus on each and every game in front of us to achieve our goal of winning the World Cup. I want to showcase what we have built up in the training camp so far, both individually and as a team, so that we can win together as a team.

MF #10 SHIBATA Hitomi (Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara Due)
In this training session, we worked on increasing the volume of our voices, being more compact than in the previous camp, and to win the ball. It feels like we are now able to win the ball more often than we did in our last camp, but we still want to improve in that aspect even more ahead of the World Cup. In offence, we tend to rush our plays and lose possession of the ball soon after winning it, so we want to make a conscious effort to connect the first pass. We also want to be strong in the midfield. At the World Cup, we all want to play one game at a time, advance through the group stage, win the title, and finish with a smile on our faces.

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022™

Tournament Dates: Tue. 11 - Sun. 30 October 2022

Group Stage
1st Match: Wed. 12 October 20:00 vs U-17 Tanzania Women's National Team
2nd Match: Sat. 15 October 20:00 vs U-17 Canada Women's National Team
3rd Match: Tue. 18 October 20:00 vs U-17 France Women's National Team
*Time shown in local time

Tournament Information