The Japan men's national team, nicknamed SAMURAI BLUE, have been in Cessnock, Australia, for their final tuneup for the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in Australia. They entred the third day of the training camp.
The team had practical game-style training (30 minutes x 2) with a local club Lambton Jaffas on the day.

SAMURAI BLUE had NISHIKAWA Shusaku at the goalkeeper, UEDA Naomichi, YOSHIDA Maya, SHOJI Gen and OTA Kosuke at the defensive line, KONNO Yasuyuki, ENDO Yasuhito and KAGAWA Shinji in the middle field, and then for the front KOBAYASHI Yu in the right, KIYOTAKE Hiroshi in the left and MUTO Yoshinori in the centre to start the game.
SAMURAI BLUE had the momentum possessing the ball from early, but weren't able to score a goal against the physical defence by the opponents.
Yet on 19th minute, Muto found a space behind the defensive line and received a long pass from his own defensive line. Muto penetrated into the box and then was fouled from behind as he was about to take a shot, getting a penalty. Endo made the penalty kick and Japan entred halftime ahead 1-0.

In the second half, NAKAJIMA Shoya substituted Endo and INUI Takashi came in the pitch for Kagawa. Right into the half, Nakajima dribbled the ball and fired a shot for a goal to extend a lead for Japan, and then Shoji, Kiyotake, Inui and Kobayashi followed afterward. In the end, Inui dribbled through in the left of the box and scored a goal before the final whistle was blown. Japan posted a 7-0 win.

The Japan team has kept going through training since 29 December, but they changed their schedule for the 6th to rest for the entire day as their staff suggested the team. They'll resume training from the 7th.

Comments

KONNO Yasuyuki (Gamba Osaka)
We have yet to perfectly understand how to play on a 4-3-3 formation, but we are going to adjust to it. In terms of our condition and mentality, we are going to keep improving on them to come in the tournament.

KOBAYASHI Yu (Kawasaki Frontale)
As we've entred in Australia, I've gradually felt the Asian Cup is approaching. It was great that I was able to score a goal in my own fashion today. I hope to let everybody understand my strengths by communicating with them. If I can provide different colours to the team, I think it's going to give some positive accents for us. I would like to adjust to the heat here and get in the tournament with better preparation.

MUTO Yoshinori (FC Tokyo)
I haven't gotten used to the heat yer, so I want to get myself in better condition. Even when I have to play at different positions that I usually don't play at, I just want to do the best I can no matter where I get to be playing. Whenever I play on the pitch, I want to have some positive outcomes like goals and assists, and contribute to the team's victories.

JFA-TV

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