It was the 6th day of SAMURAI BLUE training sessions for the two matches in June. The players had their usual training sessions both in the morning and in the afternoon.

Under the direction of head coach Vahid Halilhodzic, the team had the squad-based sessions with the ball, which is more than what they did before. The players showed good results from the series of conditioning training they had and they played very persistently with a number of intensive contact plays.

In the afternoon, INUI Takaya joined the training thanks to his team JEF United Chiba, and they had 6-on-6 training. SAMURAI BLUE fans who visited to watch this session got very excited and showed this with great applause and cheering voices when the players showed very intensive play after the series of training sessions.

The training solely for the 12 players from foreign teams ends on 7 June when the other 13 players of domestic teams who finished the J. League will join the training from 8th.

Players’ Comments

FW   OSAKO Yuya (1. FC KOLN/Germany)
We have had heavy training sessions every day and I am definitely tired. But I am confident that I can go to the next match in good condition after removing this tiredness. Since the head coach used to play for forward, I personally feel that he demands a lot of me since he knows what is required. Apart from working essentially amongst the other forward players, I feel that I have to improve my quality of play especially in front of the goal. From now, what we can make in the end will be most important, so I want to keep sticking to it strongly.

DF   SAKAI Hiroki (Hannover 96/Germany)
We have just gone through the off-season, so I have to lift myself up to get ready for the next matches. As the head coach says to us that we are aiming towards the matches on 11th and 16th, we want to get united well for these games. I also want to make a good balance between what the head coach wants me to do and what I personally want to show in the team.
Regarding the competition for my position, I just want to keep working hard as much as possible in everyday training; I always have been in this type of competition in Germany and it is very good that we have new players in the squad.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Schedule

Note: The schedule is subject to change.

KIRIN CHALLENGE CUP 2015

SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) vs. Iraq National Team
Thu. 11 June Kickoff 19:00 (subject to change)　
Kanagawa / Nissan Stadium
More information

2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup Joint Qualifiers Round 2

SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) vs Singapore National Team
Tue. 16 June Kickoff 19:30 (subject to change)　
Saitama / Saitama Stadium 2002
More information