JFA Elite Programme U-13 Japan Women's Selection Korea trip - JOC Japan Korea Joint Sports Project for Enhancing Playing Skills -
2015-11-09 (Mon.) - 15:30   Playing Time: 70min. (35min.×2)
Mokpo International Football Centre Pitch A (Korea)

JFA Elite Programme U-13 Japan Women's Selection   2-0 (1-0, 1-0)  U-13 Korea Republic Women's National Team

Scores
4'   SHIROWA Reina (U-13 Japan Women's Selection)
49'   SHIMADA Mei (U-13 Japan Women's Selection)

Line-ups
GK: OBA Syu
DF: YAMAMOTO Yuzuki, KAWAGISHI Emika, ABE Ayane, KASAI Yui
MF: YOSIZUMI Warai, TABATA Haruna, TAKARA Kotone, SHIMAMURA Mifuu
FW: ITO Megumi, SHIROWA Reina

Substitutes
29'   TAKARA Kotone → KAWAI Nonoko
HT   ITO Megumi → KIMURA Chisa
HT   YAMAMOTO Yuzuki → MATSUHISA Kanna
HT   SHIROWA Reina → SHIMADA Mei
52'   KAWAI Nonoko → KATANODA Suzu
56'   OBA Syu → NODA Asuka
56'   KASAI Yui → IMADATE Nodoka
58'   YOSIZUMI Warai → WATANABE Sakura
58'   SHIMAMURA Mifuu → HARADA Waka

Match Report

Time flew and it was already the final day of the camp. In the morning training session, the squad practised to correct mistakes of the first match they discussed in the post-match meeting. In a scrimmage played under some of the pre-set conditions, coach Yodogawa and assistant coach Nishimura talked loudly from the sideline to the players. As temperature was eight degrees lower than the previous day, the morning session finished in about 90 minutes.

The afternoon had the second match against U-13 Korea Republic Women's National Team. Coach Yodogawa who replaced four starters from the last contest said before the match “This is the last match to play in this women’s elite U-13 programme. I want you all to show every element in football that you have piled up and I want all of you to do your very best to grab the win. Then a good thing will follow.” While strong winds were blowing and the pitch was slippery due to the rain which didn’t stop until the morning on that day, the match kicked off at 3:30 p.m.

Four minutes into the match, a pass from left midfielder SHIMAMURA Mifuu (Nippon TV Menina) got intercepted by an opponent. But Japan deflected the opponent’s pass right after and the loose ball reached ITO Megumi (JFA Academy Fukushima) at the halfway line. Then Ito sent it to SHIROWA Reina (JFA Academy Fukushima) who dashed into the space behind the defenders. Shirowa took it on into the box, passed by a defender and the goalkeeper before right-footed it into the goal for the opener.

Korea Republic also created a great scoring opportunity in the 12th minute. After a throw-in by Japan on the right, a Korean player received the ball in Japan’s end and sent a through ball to her teammate sneaking up behind Japan’s backline. Goalkeeper OBA Syu faced the attacker 1-on-1 only to see the shot go just wide at the right corner. There were several more chances that Japan’s offence created, but they couldn’t extend the lead before the first half ended with one goal lead by Japan.

In the 49th minutes, SHIMADA Mei (Urawa Reds Ladies Junior Youth), who got onto the pitch after the halftime, exchanged passes with also-subbed-in KIMURA Chisa (Okayama Yunogo Belle U-15/U-18) and went unchecked in front of goal. The shot Shimada fired without hesitation found the back of the net to put Japan’s lead up to two goals.

Japan kept making goal-scoring opportunities but failed to add up the lead while Korea Republic also were not able to convert the stretches when they were pushing up the ball. At last, the second match heard the last whistle with the score remaining 2-0 in favour of Japan. 

The result left Japan with the total record of one win and one draw to wrap up the camp. 

In the evening, a farewell party was held where the girls from both countries promised to each other to meet again at the AFC Girls Regional Championship to be held next year and at a next exchange program which is being planned to take place in Japan. This marked the end of the first half of the Elite Programme giving the six training camps to the girls of this generation. 

Coach and Players' Comments

YODOGAWA Tomoharu, Coach
Before this match, we altogether discussed what went wrong in the last match. In the beginning, we were paying attention to what we talked about in the meeting, but under various conditions, there were also things we couldn’t correct. It was good that we could score goals when we had several chances.
But I want our players to aim for higher quality plays.

After I gave them instructions during the half time, we could correct some of the mistakes and created many chances. But it was a bit disappointing that good chances didn’t end up with goals. There were some mistakes in my opinion due to our lack of experience of playing on a long natural glass turf. So we will remember this as an assignment for our future. 

It turned out to be a very good experience that we could play two international matches and get one win out of them in this trip. I hope our players will take advantage of this experience for their future.

ABE Ayane (Albirex Niigata Ladies U-15)
I learned a lot in this Korea Republic trip. The most memorable thing was playing two matches against bigger and taller Korean players. In the first match, we played well in the beginning, but there were many mistakes also. To correct those mistakes, we had a team meeting, and we learned that we needed to have better individual tactics, skills and physical abilities. In the second match, we all remembered those three points, and we could win it 2-0 as a result. 

In those matches against Korea, my aggressive defence worked well against them. On the other hand, my positioning was not coordinated well with how my teammates were keeping the ball. From this experience, I want to keep doing what went well against Korea and try to correct what didn’t work well in my daily practices.

KASAI Yui (SHRINE LFC)
There were two things I strongly felt in this trip. One is the difference between matches we play in Japan and international matches. My passing speed and dribbling, which have no problem in Japan, were not good enough here, because somehow opponents here could reach it or deflect it. The international matches we played made me think a lot.

The other thing was the difference of food and culture. Korean food has more spicy food than Japanese and I was surprised. Kimchee was many times spicier than what we eat in Japan, but it was good that I had a chance to eat kimchee at its home and other spicy food.

Throughout the camp, I was impressed that all the players here are very good and aggressive. I am still not as good and not as aggressive, but I want to keep working hard to get better after I come home.

MATSUHISA Kanna (Jumonji Junior High School)
It was my first time to play in an international match. In both matches, my goal was to try out my dribbling and ball touches against Korean players. But once the matches started, I couldn’t keep good vision and often lost my calm after getting the ball. Also the balls I kicked weren’t as strong as they should be. They are my homework now.

But on the other hand, I found out that I was able to pass by defenders with my dribbles and I was able to rob the ball from them when I used my body right. So I will take back my homework to my club and work on it to change my weakness into my strength. I will also improve what I could do well even more until I can pass by any defender I face.

It has been a great experience to play football in a totally different environment like Korea. I want to thank my coaches and parents for giving me this opportunity and take advantage of this for my next step.

KIMURA Chisa (Okayama Yunogo Belle U-15/U-18)
I found out many things in this camp. First it was the difference between Japan and Korea. There were differences in football, but I also had a chance to see differences in life overall. It was the first time for me to go overseas, so it was very good experience.

Then I also got inspirations by playing against Korean players. I found many things that I can do well against Japanese players but not against foreign players. I made many mistakes. But there were also things that I could do well, for example sneaking into the space behind defenders. I want to keep working hard by using what I learned in the matches here. 

KATANODA Suzu (Kusunoki Club Ladies)
What I learned from the matches against Korea are where to keep the ball around my feet and where to position myself. In terms of what I couldn’t do in the first match, I tried to find out why it didn’t go well and then I tried it again. Then the result was a little better than the first time. But the score was still 0-0, so I couldn’t be too happy about it.

In the meeing next day, we learned how we needed technique, tactics and physical abilities and then we went out for the second match. In that match, my ball keeping and positioning was better the first match. I was happy to be able to make those corrections. We won it 2-0 and then I can go back to my home with those wins. I am happy about that, too. 

Schedule