On Monday 26 June, the U-17 Japan National Team faced off the U-17 Australia National Team in the quarterfinals of the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Thailand 2023 at Pathum Thani Stadium.

Japan made several changes to their starting line-up for this match, in which Head Coach MORIYAMA Yoshiro described as the “most important match of the tournament,” as the victor would earn a spot in the FIFA U-17 World Cup™.

GOTO Wataru (FC Tokyo U-18) was given the start between the sticks, with KOSUGI Keita (Shonan Bellmare U-18), NAGANO Shuto (FC Tokyo U-18), HONDA Kotaro (Shonan Bellmare U-18), and SHIBATA Shotaro (Kawasaki Frontale U-18) forming the four-man defence line. YAMAMOTO Joi (Tokyo Verdy Youth) and NAKAJIMA Yotaro (Sanfrecce Hiroshima Youth) were given the start in central midfield, while YOSHINAGA Yumeki (Kamimura Gakuen High School) and SATO Ryunosuke (FC Tokyo U-18) were positioned in the flanks. It was MICHIWAKI Yutaka (Roasso Kumamoto) and NAWATA Gaku (Kamimura Gakuen High School) who were named as the two strikers for this crucial match.

The match started with Japan taking the initiative from the outset, as Nawata later reflected, “We were told that Australia would play with great aggression in the first 15 to 20 minutes, so we tried to overwhelm them with our aggression.”

In the 10th minute, Nawata capitalised on a deflection of Shibata’s throw-in to put Japan in the lead, before Michiwaki converted the pass of Yoshinaga to double the lead in the 23rd minute.

Despite conceding a goal to Australia in the 62nd minute, the Japanese players maintained their composure as Honda later commented, “We were able to communicate well with each other.” Second half substitute TAKAOKA Rento (Nissho Gakuen High School) scored the team’s third goal in the 74th minute, when he responded to a through ball delivered by Sato and dribbled past the opposing defender and goalkeeper before slotting the ball into the net.

After keeping the Australian offence to just one goal, Japan advanced to the semi-finals with a 3-1 victory and earned their spot into the FIFA U-17 World Cup™.

Coach and Players' Comments

MORIYAMA Yoshiro, Head Coach
The players played very well today. We are happy that we were able to secure our place at the World Cup since the experience that these guys can acquire there is incomparably valuable. However, our goal is to win the tournament, and we will be facing IR Iran in the semi-finals, a formidable opponent who we lost to in a friendly match held last year. We will try to increase our ball possession in order to limit our opponents from creating chances.

DF #3 KOSUGI Keita (Shonan Bellmare U-18)
I am disappointed that the goal we conceded came from a player I was marking, but I was able to make the necessary adjustments afterwards. The team is focused on winning the title, and I am also committed to shutting out the player I am matched up against.

DF #16 HONDA Kotaro (Shonan Bellmare U-18)
I feel relieved that we were able to win today, especially after conceding four goals in our previous match. We still need to reflect on the fact that we were unable to keep a clean sheet, but overall, I think we defended well as a team. I was really fatigued in the second half, so I will focus on recovering my condition in the next two days.

FW #11 TAKAOKA Rento (Nissho Gakuen High School)
I was finally able to score a goal. Even though I went scoreless in the group stage, I knew what I was capable of, so I kept on making efforts towards the goal. I was quite calm when I scored the goal. My goal is to win the golden boot, so I will try to score as many goals as possible in the remaining matches.

YouTube(AFC):#AFCU17 - QF | Japan 3 - 1 Australia

AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Thailand 2023

Tournament Dates: Thu. 15 June - Sun. 2 July 2023

Tournament Information