The U-17 Japan National Team have been on an overseas tour in Porec, Croatia since 13 November. The team, which consists mainly of players born in 2005, has not been able to travel abroad for a long time due to the pandemic, with some players taking part in an international tournament for the first time and others taking part for the first time in two and a half years.

The U-17 Japan National Team played their first match against the U-18 Croatia National Team on Tuesday 15 November.

Facing a highly skilled Croatian side, Japan created number of close opportunities from the outset, but conceded the opening goal in the 15th minute. Despite giving up the lead, Japan continued to play with great aggression and managed to equalise the score in the 52nd minute with the goal of HAYAKAWA Jumpei (Urawa Red Diamonds Youth). The closely contested match came down to the wire, but it was the home side who triumphed at the end, as Croatia converted a penalty in the 91st minute to win the match.

The U-17 Japan National Team will now face the U-17 Sweden National Team on Friday 18.

Players’ Comments

MF HAYAKAWA Jumpei (Urawa Red Diamonds Youth)
This was my first international tour, so the lengthy travel and training in an unfamiliar environment made it difficult for me to condition myself as usual, and I felt that I was unable to cope with the speed and size of my opponents. However, in the final stages of the game, I think that everyone was able to show their individual strengths and actively attack the goal. Although I was able to score a goal, we ended up losing, so I want to be able to score a goal that will lead the team to victory. We still have two more matches left to play, so I want to do my best so that we can grab a victory as a team.

FW KIDA Ryouga (Nagoya Grampus U-18)
With this being my first international tour with the national team, I was really looking forward to playing football with some of the best players in the country and to see how well I could play against the world. In our first match against Croatia, the referee, environment, and time difference clearly had an impact on our game. Our opponents were so much stronger than we anticipated, but we were able to keep the ball moving and use our footwork to compete against them. Personally, I felt like I was able to finish my plays with a shot and control the ball when I needed. We have a lot to work on, but since we are here representing our country, we will do our best to finish the tournament by winning the reaming two matches.