The quarterfinals and semi-finals of the JFA 46th U-12 Japan Football Championship took place on Wednesday 28 December.

In the first quarterfinal match that took place at Kamoike Auxiliary Stadium, Takabe JFC (Shizuoka), who reached the national stage for the first time in 12 years, squared off against tournament debutant Oyamazaki SSC (Kyoto). The match started with Takabe’s ENDO Yua scoring the opening goal in the 11th minute, followed by a midrange shot scored by YAMADA Kanta in the 19th minute to extend the lead for Takabe.

After being held to zero shots in the first half, Oyamazaki started to rally back in the second half, as they supplied more passes into the attacking third. However, despite the close range shots taken by KAGANO Subaru and ISHIDA Kuga, the Kyoto side fell short from scoring a goal, and ended up conceding two more goals in the second half, as Takabe advanced to the semi-finals with a 4-0 victory.

In the other fixtures, AZR (Shiga) defeated SCH FC (Kanagawa) in penalties, Kashiwa Reysol U-12 (Chiba) won their match against Sagan Tosu U-12 (Saga), while Regista FC (Saitama) edged Matsumoto Yamaga FC U-12 (Nagano) to reach the semi-finals.

The first semi-final match played at Shiranami Stadium saw Takabe create early chances, as KURITA Tora and Endo worked in tandem to threaten the Kashiwa goal.

However, Kashiwa displayed great organisation to persevere through the early minutes, gradually picked up their pace, and found their way to score the opening goal in the 17th minute, when FUKAYA Soma headed in a cross delivered from the right side.

Kashiwa continued to showcase their aggression in the second half. Although they were unable to extend their lead, Kashiwa won the match 1-0 to advance to the final.

The second semi-final match was played between AZR and Regista. The match started with AZR’s fast paced wingers Fukushima Hayato and SHIMOMINAMI Aoto attacking the flanks to create opportunities.

Regista on the other hand, responded with high intensity pressure and short counterattacks, as they displayed great individual skills to take the initiative of the match. The opening goal came in the fifth minute when ADACHI Ipei converted the deflection of a shot taken by TAKAHASHI Ren to put Regista in the lead. SATO Tao scored added another goal in the 17th minute to give Regista a 2-0 lead at halftime.

With momentum on their side, Regista went on a goal spree in the second half, adding four more goals to their tally. Despite conceding a late goal to AZR, Regista advanced to the tournament final for the second straight year with a comfortable 6-1 victory.

The final will be played between Kashiwa and Regista at Shiranami Stadium on Thursday 29 December.

Coach and Players' Comments

MURAO Yushin (Oyamazaki SSC/Kyoto)
Everyone looked nervous, by we tried to do our best to enjoy the moment. After conceding a 0-2 lead, we tried to play aggressively in the second half to score three goals. Although we lost the match, we have another big tournament scheduled to take place in Kyoto, so we hope to make the most of this experience to do well there. We want to be able to compete against stronger and faster opponents.

TSUSHIMA Haru (SCH FC/Kanagawa)
We tried to win the match by displaying everything we have worked over the years, but we had to endure a tough match that went into penalties. I think the fact that we couldn’t convert our opportunities in the final third led to this result. Each and every play can contribute to the team by keeping a high motivation to get better. We still have the prefectural tournament left to be played, so we hope to use this loss as motivation to do well in that tournament.

YOSHIZAWA Oga (Matsumoto Yamaga FC U-12/Nagano)
(Regarding his goal in the quarterfinals) I wasn’t necessarily aiming for it, but I was desperate to get something going. We wanted to equalise the score and overtake the lead. Everyone, including the reserve and injured players were highly motivated to win this match. Although we weren’t able to advance through, I was great to see everyone being involved in both offence and defence. We will feed off of this experience to return to the national stage again.

FURUSHO Takanori, Coach (AZR/Shiga)
We knew Regista had fast players in the flanks, so we positioned players who can match their speed in order to win the ball. However, the players seemed to be under a lot of pressure, and we weren’t able to possess the ball as we normally do. The fact that we were able to reach this stage shall give us great confidence moving forward. We will continue to work hard to return to this stage again.

JFA 46th U-12 Japan Football Championship

Tournament Dates: Mon. 26 - Thu. 29 December 2022
Venues:
1st Round/Round of 16
Kagoshima Fureai Sportsland (Kagoshima)

Quarterfinals
Kamoike Auxiliary Stadium (Kagoshima)

Semi-Finals/Final
Shiranami Stadium (Kagoshima)

Tournament Information