U-20 Japan National Team　AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 Qualifiers
Group J Second Match vs U-22 Cambodia National Team
21 July 2017(Fri.) Kick-off 18:30 Playing Time 90min.（45min.×2）
National Olympic Stadium（Phnom Penh, Cambodia）

U-22 Cambodia National Team　0-2（0-0, 0-2）U-20 Japan National Team

Scores
73'　ENDO Keita（U-20 Japan National Team）
84'　KOMATSU Ren（U-20 Japan National Team）
 
Starting Line-ups
GK：HATANO Go
DF：YANAGI Takahiro, ITAKURA Kou, NAKAYAMA Yuta, FUNAKI Kakeru
MF：TAKAGI Akito, ICHIMARU Mizuki, ITO Hiroki, ENDO Keita
FW：NAKASAKA Yuya, TAGAWA Kyosuke

Reserves
GK：KOJIMA Ryosuke, YAMAGUCHI Louis Takaji Julien
DF：FUJITANI So, TATSUTA Yugo, KOGA Taiyo, SAKAI Daisuke
MF：MIYOSHI Koji, HARIGAYA Takeaki, HARA Teruki, MORISHIMA Tsukasa
FW：HATATE Reo, KOMATSU Ren

Substitutions
67'　TAGAWA Kyosuke → KOMATSU Ren
78'　NAKASAKA Yuya → HATATE Reo
88'　ICHIMARU Mizuki → SAKAI Daisuke

Match Report

U-20 Japan National Team faced hosts Cambodia in their second group-stage match of the AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 Qualifiers and saw over 15,000 spectators come and cheer for the home team. The national squad altered their entire starting XI and entered the match.

U-20 Japan dominated the match from the beginning and the majority of the game was played inside the Cambodia’s side of the pitch. The first scoring attempt from Japan came from ENDO Keita. After receiving the ball in the centre of the penalty area, the Japanese midfielder composedly dodged the challenge of an opposing defender to fire at goal with his right foot, but was denied by the Cambodian goalkeeper.

Thereafter, forwards NAKASAKA Yuya and TAGAWA Kyosuke were instrumental in creating numerous scoring chances upfront, but were unable to break through the Cambodian defence to open the scoring for the Japanese side. In the closing minutes of the first half, right fullback YANAGI Takahiro surged up the pitch to strike a right-footer at goal, but his attempt was blocked again by a fine save from the opposing goalkeeper. The scoreline was all tied at 0-0 before halftime.

Similar to the first half, Japan controlled the match after the break by keeping possession of the ball and initiated effective attacks from both flanks as well as fashioning their scoring chances from set pieces. The moment of relief came in the 73rd minute for the Japanese side as they finally scored the opening goal. Through a fine exchange of passes on the right flank, Yanagi on the overlap send in a cross towards the far post, where onrushing Endo controlled the ball superbly and composedly directly the shot past the goalkeeper and into the Cambodian net.

U-20 Japan extended their lead to 2-0 in the 84th minute from building up a play from deep in their own end. Evading the challenge of the opposing forward, goalkeeper HATANO Go calmly sent a long ball to the right side, where second-half substitute and forward KOMATSU Ren found Endo Keita in acres of space down the right flank. Surging up the pitch and inside the penalty area, Endo laid it off superbly to Komatsu, who fired in a dazzling shot into the net with his non-dominant right foot.

Towards the end of the match, Japan gave away a free kick to Cambodia right in front of the goal, but their direct attempt blazed over the cross bar. The young Japanese internationals secured their second win of their Asian campaign with a clean sheet.

Match Report

U-20 Japan will face China in their final group-stage match to decide the top of Group J on Sunday 23 July.

Players' Comments

GK # 12 HATANO Go (F.C. Tokyo)
Despite being a complete away game, I was able to enjoy the match. There weren’t many occasions where I had a chance to touch the ball, but I am glad that the goal was scored from my long pass and I was able to contribute to the team’s victory.

DF #4 ITAKURA Kou (Kawasaki Frontale)
It was a difficult away match with plenty of supporters for the home team. However, we kept our composure and secured a win at the end. We hope to win the match against China the day after tomorrow as well.

DF #19 FUNAKI Kakeru (Cerezo Osaka)
The second match of the qualifiers against Cambodia was a complete away game. Immense pressure was felt inside the stadium that we could have lost our composure from our simple mistakes, but I am glad that we were able to encourage each other and secure a win. However, we need to reduce the number of errors in midfield and improve the quality of the final plays to carve open the opponent’s defence as well. We only have one day in between the games, but will make the necessary adjustments and return to Japan with three straight wins.

MF #7 TAKAGI Akito (Gamba Osaka)
In the atmosphere of a complete away game, I had an excellent experience of grabbing a win as a team. We had to endure a long stretch where we could not score a goal. However, I am glad that we kept our composure and scored at the end as well. We would like to post a solid win in the final match of the qualifiers against China and return to Japan.

MF #17 ICHIMARU Mizuki (Gamba Osaka)
I am simply glad that we grabbed a win against Cambodia today. However, I must add that we failed to capitalise on our scoring opportunities in the first half and allowed our opponents to fashion their chances from our errors. I believe these are areas we need to address and work on as well.

Even when we had to endure a long stretch where we couldn’t score in the second half, we kept our composure and scored a fine goal at the end. I believe we can reduce the numbers of errors and play at a much higher level even in a complete away game if we can display our style of football for the entire 90 minutes. We would like to focus more on our quality of plays against the coming China match as well.

Schedule

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

AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 Qualifiers (Group J)

Date：15 July 2017(Sat.)～23 July 2017(Sun.)
Location：Cambodia

*Ten group winners and five best second-placed teams among all the groups in the qualifiers and hosts China (a total of 16 teams) will participate in the AFC U-23 Championship China 2018.

Fixtures, Results and Tournament Information
AFC U-23 Championship China 2018 Qualifiers - U-20 Japan National Team Squad Members