The day 2 of the Japan-Mekong U-15 Football Exchange Programme took place at J-GREEN Sakai in the strong sun, completely different from the rainy weather on the previous day.

The matches of the day were to determine the matchups of the placement matches to be held on the final day of the tournament on Friday 3 July. The pitches were full of live atmosphere with passionate coaching by each team’s boss and big encouraging voices from players on the bench.

Following the previous day, not only with such backing from their bench, the teams were playing also with the big support from players' families visiting from cities inside and outside Japan along with public spectators. The players battled it out with aggressive performances on the pitch as there were a lot of matches that ended with a late equaliser or a comeback winner.

A player whose family came to cheer for him all the way from his home country to Japan says, "I'm happy and proud to show my performance to my parents." The next day is the final day of the football exchange tournament.

Players’ Comments

Khampanhgna Keodouangdeth (Captain of U-15 Laos National Team)
We won against Thailand and drew with Myanmar, and we are satisfied with the four points. Our team trust each other, believe in our coaching staff, are united and equipped with energy to play together. We will do our best in the remaining matches.

Sumana Salapphet (Captain of U-15 Thailand National Team)
It's disappointing we lost the opening match against Laos, but we went out for the second match against Sanfrecce with confidence that we can win. But unfortunately we lost again. Refreshing our mind, we played the third match against Myanmar with a determination to win. I'm happy we finally got a win.

Because we hadn't got used to the Japanese environment earlier in the tournament, we were a bit tensed. But we are getting relieved of our tension as we play each match, and we are so relaxed now.

TAKAO Shogo (Captain of Sanfrecce Hiroshima F.C. Junior Youth)
We failed to win the opener against Myanmar, but we were successful in winning the second one over Thailand. We will keep up our work in the rest of the matches. Our previous opponents Myanmar and Thailand had intense defence, and came up with crunching challenges when we were playing slack. Our team are getting in a good mood to work hard for the next. We can't always experience a tournament like this. And the rankings are also determined in this tournament. We will get together and try hard for a win.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Japan-Mekong U-15 Football Exchange Programme Overview

The Japan Foundation Asia Center has arranged for each participating team, invited to Japan, to stay in Japan until 5 July after the football tournament. The young players will experience some Japanese culture, such as Japanese calligraphy in Tokyo, to deepen their understanding and to get to know the culture.
Date: Wed. 1 July to Fri. 3 July 2015
Location: J-GREEN SAKAI (145 Yawata-machi, Chikko, Sakai-ku, Sakai, Osaka)
More information

Participating Teams