AFC U-14 Girls' Regional Championship East 2016/Final vs U-14 DPR Korea Women’s National Team
2016-5-22 (Sun.) - 17:00   Playing Time: 70min. (35min.×2)
National Football Training Centre Pitch 6 (China/Beijing)

U-14 Japan Women's Selection   0-3 (0-1, 0-2)   U-14 DPR Korea Women’s National Team

Scores
8'   Goal against (U-14 DPR Korea Women’s National Team)
43'   Goal against (U-14 DPR Korea Women’s National Team)
51'   Goal against (U-14 DPR Korea Women’s National Team)

Line-ups
GK: OBA Shu
DF: NOGUCHI Akari, KAWAGISHI Emika, TABATA Haruna, MATSUHISA Kanna
MF: TAKARA Kotone, ABE Ayane, FUCHIGAMI Nonoka, YOSHIZUMI Warai
FW: ITO Megumi, SHIROWA Reina

Substitutes
GK: TAKESHITA Kanasa
FP: SHIMADA Mei, IMADATE Nodoka, KIMURA Chisa, KASAI Yui, KATANODA Suzu, KAWAMOTO Sae

HT   ABE Ayane → KIMURA Chisa
48'   MATSUHISA Kanna → KAWAMOTO Sae
52'   SHIROWA Reina → SHIMADA Mei
61'   TAKARA Kotone → KATANODA Suzu

Match Report

It had been a week since the U-14 Japan Women’s Selection team arrived in China PR on Sunday 15 May, when the final was held. On the day before the final, the players reviewed the semi-final to go through their strengths and weaknesses in both attack and defence. During the meeting before the game, the coach YODOKAWA told them: ‘just one more step to achieve our first aim. What we went through was correct. So put that into practice on the pitch. Let’s trust your teammates and play together.’

Japan lost to the U-14 DPR Korea Women’s National Team in the semi-final last year as well as in the final two years ago.

Japan took the kick-off. Although the players had watched videos of the opponent’s games, they were overwhelmed by DPR Korea’s speed and pressure at the beginning of the match. After eight minutes, Japan got through to the opponent’s area, but DPR Korea intercepted to send a pass directly to the centre. A pass got through, during a moment when Japanese defenders were just watching the ball against the opponent, who moved forward with some power. DPR Korea went to the space behind the defender, and faced the goalkeeper OBA Shu (JFA Academy Fukushima) 1-on-1 to strike a goal. Japan conceded a goal for the first time in this championship.

Japan started to find their rhythm in the 20th minute, and were getting used to the opponent’s speed and pressure. The goalkeeper Oba saved several shots from corner kicks superbly not to let the opponent get any more goals. At the start of the second half, Japan were one goal behind.

After eight minutes of the second half, DPR Korea reacted to a cross from the right side and headed home. Just eight minutes later, Japan conceded another goal from a shot in the penalty area.

Although Japan never gave up and continued to play their style, the team could not find the back of the net and lost the game 3-0.

As a result, Japan finished second place in the championship. The players will leave for Japan early in the morning on Monday 23 May with unforgettable frustration from the final, new tasks, and a determination to improve themselves after this nine-day experience.

Coach and Players' Comments

YODOKAWA Tomoharu, Coach (JFA National Training Centre Coach)
Our aim on the China PR trip was ‘to become champions’. We finished in second place, just one step away from achieving that. When we arrived, the players were passive and weren’t prepared enough, possibly due to nerves or unsteadiness, but they gradually started to decide what to do. I could often see that they tried to improve as much as possible in order to achieve their aims on and off the pitch, not to mention during games.

I have no doubt that each of their efforts led us to the final. I expect that the players will thoroughly analyse what was needed to take another step to achieve our aim, and use this painful feeling to improve themselves for the future. I’d like to take seriously the fact that I couldn’t lead the players to achieve their best, despite their efforts, and face our future activities. I am grateful to the staff and players for working together towards our goal.

FP #15  FUCHIGAMI Nonoka (JEF UNITED ICHIHARA CHIBA LADIES U-15)
My personal aim of this championship was to 'enjoy displaying my playing style on the pitch.’ During the final, I sustained the positioning, which allowed me play with a 120-degree field of vision, and sent passes with fewer touches to contribute to attacks and shots. I could calmly send a through ball into free space. Having said that, I couldn’t react to a loose ball before the opponent in the center. I also didn’t draw the opponent with the ball well enough, and let her send a key pass to create an opportunity.  

As a team, we couldn’t display our style – passing football, and let DPR Korea play as they liked. I saw a gap in accuracy of passing and controlling. I think it’s vital to practice everyday under tough pressure to close that gap. I had an excellent experience on and off the pitch in my first international championship. I’ll bring my tasks and gains back to my club team to improve more.

FP #20  ABE Ayane (Albirex Niigata Ladies U-15)
I played against DPR Korea for the first time. We couldn’t play in our way at the beginning of the game against their high-quality technique, speed and strength. Although we gradually created goal-scoring opportunities, we couldn’t find the back of the net and lost the match. Through this championship, I learned a lot of differences from playing Japan. Off the pitch, language and meals were among the biggest differences. On the pitch, the ball, the pitch condition, as well as the size of it, were different from Japan, and I found it difficult to get used to it at first. I could enjoy it in the end, though. It was an excellent learning opportunity for me. I was gutted to finish in second place. So I’ll practice hard back in my club team, learning from this experience. 

FP #13  TABATA Haruna (Viento FC Toyono/JFA Academy Fukushima)
We aimed to strike the opener and keep a clean sheet in today’s final. However, we lost the game 3-0. The opponent put us under pressure quickly with their great physical strength. We got muddled up a little and could not play our style. Having said that, we gradually found our momentum and got used to the opponent so that we could show our abilities. I fired shots, only for them to go wide. Despite differences in language and meals in the host country China PR, I could enjoy myself, not to mention the football. As I found tasks to be fixed during this trip, I’d like to improve on them back in Japan.

Schedule

*Local Time
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.