With a day prior to the round of 16 against Venezuela in the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017, U-20 Japan National Team worked out on Monday 29 May at a field adjacent to the match site where they visited and checked on before practice.

The team started their training with warm-ups and worked on 4v2 passing drills and shooting exercises involving line controlling and combination in groups. Then, they went through set-pieces and played an 8v8 scrimmage before wrapping up their training with penalty-kick practice.

Coach UCHIYAMA used all the field players on the team in the three group-stage matches. As the Japanese boss emphasises that the coming match will a battle between two entire teams as they play their fourth matches with two-day break, saying “We have enough talent on the team and can perform at a high level, regardless of who gets the chance to play. I want fresh players to start the game and will decide the final line-ups after checking the opponents more thoroughly.” SAKAI Daisuke adds, “Even though different players are brought on to compete for the tournament, we are consistent in displaying our style of football. We will unite as one team and go all-out for a win.”

As the Japanese players brace themselves for the coming match by stating “Venezuela have pace upfront and enough talents on the team,” the Venezuelan squad have maintained a 3-0 perfect record with clean sheets and topped their group with 10 goals and advanced ahead of Mexico, Germany and Vanuatu. In their South American qualifiers, third-placed Venezuela were the only team who grabbed a win against youth-championship winners Uruguay. 

“We've got to keep our concentration and be patient above all. As time goes, we can pick up our rhythm, and the flow of the game is important,” says defender NAKAYAMA Yuta. DOAN Ritsu, who tallied a brace in the Italy match in style, adds, ‘It will be the best if I can lead the team to a win, but the team's win comes before individual ‘wants." Miyoshi Koji also shows his strong determination towards winning by commenting "If we keep possession and exchange effective passes, then we will find a gap in the opponents' defence."

Japan's round-of-16 fixture will kick off at Daejeon World Cup Stadium at 5 p.m. on Tuesday 30 May.

Coach's and Players' Comments

UCHIYAMA Atsushi, Coach
Venezuela have got pace upfront, and Japan need to be fully aware of this as well as controlling our defensive line We've had matches once every three days and I shared my thought that it will be important for each player to make his own preparation for the match as well. I want fresh players to start the game and will decide the final line-ups after checking the opponents more thoroughly. I also believe that if we enter the match solidly, then we will have chances against the opponents who are getting increasingly eager to score. If we capitalise on what we have experienced and improved from the group-stage matches, then we will certainly have a chance to grab a win.

DF #5 TOMIYASU Takehiro (Avispa Fukuoka)
Venezuelan players upfront with high individual skills have distinctive characteristics. We are looking to cope with them as a team, but we certainly cannot lose the individual battles as well, and must enter the match with strong mentality. We allowed five goals in three group-stage matches, and we have to now focus on the details including line control and positioning in defence for Venezuela match. It’s a win-or-lose match, and we will make the best preparation to come up with a win.

MF #8 MIYOSHI Koji (Kawasaki Frontale)
Entering the knockout phase, it will be a completely different battle from the group stage. We will focus on winning each game at a time. Attacking players must post concrete results, and we certainly have to create chances and convert them into goals. I am having a good feel in certain aspects of the game, and now I need to improve the accuracy of finishing, assists or set-ups plays leading to a shot. As a team, we share the same strong determination towards winning and, as a member of the team, I aspire to help my team win as well. I want many people to watch our game also.

Schedule

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