The 101st All Japan High School Soccer Tournament kicked-off on Wednesday 28 December. The opening match took place at Japan National Stadium, where Seiritsu Gakuen High School (Tokyo B) and Tsu Technical High School (Mie) clashed.

Featured Match

Seiritsu Gakuen High School 3-2 (2-0, 1-2) Tsu Technical High School

Overwhelmed by the pressure, Seiritsu Gakuen made some uncharacteristic mistakes in the early stages, but as captain YAGI Akira recalled, “The support of our friends encouraged us and we were able to play with a good vibe,” they gradually settled down as the match progressed. The defence line of Tsu Technical fell back as WATANABE Gen made bold moves down the left flank using his speed, while TAKEDA Yugo drifted towards the centre to draw the ball out from the right flank, allowing their teammates to use the space created to move the ball and create chances.

In the 35th minute, OKAWA Takumi delivered a long feed to Watanabe who collected the ball in the left side. TAKIGAWA Jo made an overlapping run to receive the ball before delivering a cross to set up the shot of Takeda. Although this shot was initially saved by Tsu Technical’s goalkeeper MAEKAWA Yamato, JINDA Minoru was there to convert the deflection to give Seiritsu Gakuen the lead. With SATO Yura heading in a goal from a corner kick in the 40th minute, the Tokyo side extended their lead to two goals.

“Our defenders were unable to press forward at the end of the first half, so we needed to be more patient in those times. We couldn’t make the adjustments on the pitch, so we tried to make changes during halftime,” said Tsu Technical’s coach KATANO Norikazu, as the Mie side attempted to apply more pressure at the start of the second half.

However, after conceding another goal to Seiritsu Gakuen in the 44th minute, Tsu Technical had their backs against the wall, as team captain SHOJI Masaharu reflected, “We were down three goals, so we had to commit ourselves to press forward. In hindsight, it allowed us to showcase our usual football style.”

In the 61st minute, MASUYAMA Manta headed in the cross delivered by YAMAZOE Shui, followed by the goal scored by NARUKAWA Koki in the 73rd minute to close down the gap, but the late surge displayed by Tsu Technical ended there, as Seiritsu Gakuen advanced to the second round with a 3-2 victory.

Coaches and Players' Comments

YAMAMOTO Kenji, Coach (Seiritsu Gakuen High School)
The players looked nervous at first but managed to find their pace as the match progressed. Although we were able to move the ball around in the first half, our performance dropped after taking the lead. Our opponents were able to gain momentum because we were unnecessarily rushing our plays when all we needed to do was play with composure to maintain the lead. Even though I would have preferred a 3-0 victory, I am glad that we were able to win the match.

YAGI Akira (Seiritsu Gakuen High School)
The fact that we could not recover after conceding a goal and ended up giving up another goal is something we regret. It felt like we were not on the same page in terms of whether we were going to press forward to score more goals or to drop back to maintain the lead. As the team captain, it felt like I had to do a better job to control the game. When our opponents are pressing forward, there will be spaces we can exploit to create chances, so we hope to showcase more plays like that in our next match.

KATANO Norikazu, Coach (Tsu Technical High School )
The atmosphere at Japan National Stadium was incredible. We feel so fortunate to be given such wonderful opportunity. Even though it is just one match, I feel that the players have gained a lot not just as football players, but as human beings. I hope the players will make the most of this experience in the future. We will continue to work hard so that we can return to this stage again.

SHOJI Masaharu (Tsu Technical High School )
We were very excited when our team was drawn to play for the opening match at Japan National Stadium. This was our first time playing in front of such a large crowd, so we were very nervous, but we also had a lot of fun. I hope to make the most of this experience once I move onto play football at the college level. This must have been a great experience for the first and second year players as well, so I hope they will continue to put in the work to reach this stage again.

The 101st All Japan High School Soccer Tournament

Tournament Dates: Wed. 28 December 2022 - Mon. 9 January 2023

Tournament Information