Most of the players of the Beach Soccer Japan National Team that just finished the Intercontinental Cup, remained in Dubai to attend the training camp in preparation for the Asian Beach Games, starting on 15 November in Phuket in Thailand.
One of the reasons they have stayed in Dubai is that the head coach Marcelo, who used to be the head coach of the UAE national team for seven years before he came to Japan, knows the hotels and the training facilities there.

The players had a day off following the Intercontinental Cup. They started their training today, holding one training session in the morning and the other in the afternoon. In the morning they started with light exercise and gradually picked up the pace, ending up with shooting practice, which was especially tough for the goalkeepers. Then they went back to the hotel and did their cool-down stretching in the pool in preparation for the afternoon session.

In the afternoon, they had a practice match, focusing on defence. The players checked and fixed their position, depending on the position of the opponent’s player with the ball. Since Japan conceded many goals due to the gaps in their defence in the Intercontinental Cup, they are working on this critical issue before the Asian Beach Games.

Comment

Marcelo Mendes Head Coach
It was very meaningful for both players and me that we could take part in the Intercontinental Cup. We’re still building a new team with some new faces. I think we were able to really ascertain this team’s current level by playing against strong teams, such as Russia and Brazil. As we now know the issues that need to be fixed, all we need to do is continue our hard work. Obviously, coming seventh in the championship was not what we aimed at and I’m not satisfied with it at all. Having said that, we learned a lot from the numerous mistakes in the matches. We’ll stay in Dubai to hold practice sessions for a few more days and improve the team, so that we can win the championship at the Asian Beach Games.

Schedule