SPORT FOR TOMORROW Japan-Central Asia U-15 Football Exchange Programme
Group League 1st Match: U-15 Japan National Team  v  U-15 Uzbekistan National Team
25 March 2015
Kick-off : 15:20
Playing time: 60 min (30 min half)
Venue: J-GREEN Sakai, Sakai, Osaka

U-15 Japan National Team  4-0 (1st 2-0, 2nd 2-0)  U-15 Uzbekistan National Team

Scores
7 '   MIKUNI Kennedy Ebusu (Japan)
28'  SUGAWARA Yukinari(Japan)
56'  TANAHASHI Akito (Japan)
57'  TANAHASHI Akito(Japan)

Line-ups
GK:  TAKADA Yuma
DF:  SAKUTA Ryutaro, KAWAI Tetta, KUDO Aoi, KEMMOTSU Takumu
MF:  HIRAKAWA Rei, SUGAWARA Yukinari, HOMMA Shion, MASUTANI Takara
FW:  YAMAYA Yushi, MIKUNI Kennedy Ebusu

Substitutes
GK:  TANI Kosei
DF:  OMOMO Leon, TOKUNAGA Haruto
MF:  ENDO Masashi,AWANO Kento
FW: TANAHASHI Akito

HT   HOMMA Shion → ENDO Masashi
HT   HIRAKAWA Rei → AWANO Kento
HT   YAMAYA Yushi → TANAHASHI Akito
50'   KEMMOTSU Takumu → OMOMO Leon
50'   KUDO Aoi → TOKUNAGA Haruto

Non-registered member
GK: KATSURA Rikuto

Match Report

From the beginning of the 1st half, Japan aggressively pressed Uzbekistan. On 8 minutes, HOMMA made a shot from his sharp dribbling but the opponent’s GK saved it and then MIKUNI pushed the ball back towards the Uzbekistan’s goal and got the opener. On 28 minutes, SUGAWARA got the second goal by smashing the ball into the net after receiving a cross ball. Some players were substituted in the 2nd half and Japan kept attacking Uzbekistan who gradually got tired. On 56 minutes, SUGAWARA made a deep pass to TANAHASHI and he placed a chip shot to make the score 3-0. Furthermore, TANAHASHI hit a cross and it smashed directly to the opponent’s goal. Japan kept attacking Uzbekistan and the first match of this Group League was over with Japan’s 4-0 victory.

Head Coach and Players' Comments

MORIYAMA Yoshiro, Head Coach
Our players were highly motivated from the beginning and they kept the ball for most of the time during the match, not allowing them to touch the ball by stealing the ball from press defense. I know that Uzbek players were tired because this was their second match, it was good for us to get ready for the second match tomorrow with a positive mentality. Today we had good experiences such as our players with speed cut in from 1 vs 1 form and ended up scoring, and sharing the situation about the opponents and the ball very well amongst the players especially in defense; improving our sense of analysing and predicting what happens next is what we have worked on particularly and I appreciate the players showing what we have learned in the match today.

However, we still got some issues. For example, we keep the ball too long and that gives the chance for the opponents to steal the ball, so tomorrow, I will encourage them not to give any chance and to gain offensive options. By experiencing victories, I want them to learn many things and we want to keep going to have the final match against a very good team at the end of this exchange programme.

MF #7  HOMMA Shion (Albirex Niigata U-15)
It was our first match and I am happy that we could score a lot, making our systematic pressing defense and offense work well. We still have some issues such as improving our shot accuracy, but I could break through 1 vs 1 defense on the left wing and made some scoring opportunities. I expect that we can make a good combination with defenders by playing more matches. Tomorrow, I want to maximise my strengths and also try some of my challenges like making left-footed crosses and shots.

MF #8  SUGAWARA Yukinari (Nagoya Grampus U15)
This morning before the match, I had a chance to watch their match and I found that there was an empty zone in the left side, that gave a chance for me to think about which position I can take and what I can do to take advantage of it. We could get in to the match more easily than we had expected and we could make a positive mood by scoring at the beginning of the match. As a team we could play very well in both defense and offense: in defense we were very consistent using our physical strengths, and in offense we could make most of the players with speed. However we have some issues where we made too many long-distance passes when the opponents gave us press defense. We want to keep good sense of distance and angles in any circumstances. Our Head Coach always teaches us the importance of being a “strong player” in any situation, so tomorrow I will play full of energy keeping myself positive.

FW #9  TANAHASHI Akito (Yokohama F Marinos Junior Youth)
I was substituted but scoring 2 goals in the match today made me feel more confident. All I needed to do was just an apply a finishing touch since it was such a good pass, coming to a spot well behind the defense. However, I missed some scoring chances, so I just want to keep working hard everyday to improve my shot accuracy which makes ourselves feel easier in the actual matches. We will have more matches from tomorrow and I want to concentrate on scoring and having a good sense of switch between offense and defense.

Schedule

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

Entry teams of the programme

Future Schedule