The 1st All-Japan Youth (Under-18) Futsal tournament presented by BallBall entered its final scheduled day on 31st August as the championship match and third-place contest were played at Ota City General Gymnasium.
In the championship match between Nagoya Oceans Under-18 (Tokai 1/Aichi) and Seiwa Gakuen FC (Tohoku 1/Miyagi), Seiwa rallied to grab the inaugural title.
In the final that wound up being a high-level contest, Nagoya's KITANO Seiya volleyed a floated corner kick into the goal to give Oceans a 1-0 lead. But Seiwa FC gradually began their rallies and TANNO Yuji tied it for Seiwa FC after he ran up in the middle. The game entered halftime with a 1-1 score.
The two sides played seesaw battles in the latter half as well. After both scored a goal apiece, Seiwa FC earned a penalty kick on 32nd minute. OBATA Shinji made it to give his team a lead. Now the trailing Nagoya substituted their goalkeeper with a field player and attacked with power play, moving the ball with all the five players. Yet Seiwa FC would not yield a goal with high concentration defensively and ended up posting a 3-2 victory.

Seiwa FC, now No. 1 team in the under-18 category, had a dribble-first policy, and cooked the audience by coping against Nagoya's organizational futsal. Meanwhile, Nagoya scored two goals from set plays, which was signature in the game, and showed high-level plays throughout the tournament.
Before the final match, Yasu High School (Kansai 2/Shiga) and Fujii Gakuen Samugawa High School (Shikoku/Kagawa) played in the third-place contest. The two played a goal-fest until the end, but Samugawa, who had exhibited their high offensive power throughout the tourney, won it 8-3.
This tournament showed heated spirits, which fit the generations, and high techniques, but Seiwa FC, who showed their growths as they kept winning, wound up taking the championship in the end.

Results

FinalMatch Report
Nagoya OceansU-18　2-3　Seiwa Gakuen FC

3rd Place Match Match Report
Shiga Pref Yasu High School 　3-8　Fujii Gakuen Samugawa High School

Comments

MATSUYAMA Shota Coach（FC Seiwa Gakuen FC）
I wouldn't envision this result of us winning the championship. I'd just say our players are great. I didn't think that they would make develop as much as they did throughout the tournament. Also, I appreciate that our supporters, including the players' parents, head coach and other coaches who remained at the school. I think that our players deepened their confidence level, but this is not over yet for them and I would like them to take advantage of this experience for their next challenges, such as the national high school championships and prince league.

AIHARA Keigo（Seiwa Gakuen FC）
After we took two losses in the group stage, we discussed between ourselves that we would play our own game having some fun, and as a result of that we enjoyed our games, we've come all the way to get here while I individually won the MIP award. So I'm just surprised. Also, I've always kept training on my techniques and it paid off. Winning in a national tournament really gave me confidence as well as patience to endure massive pressure. I want to convert this in football.

KITANO Seiya（Nagoya Oceans Under-18）
Because it was the inaugural tournament and it was a stage that we had a chance to prove the power of futsal. But at the end of the day, it wasn't so easy. I cried as if I'd never cried as much, and I am so disappointed and just broke down in tears at the bench. Me personally, I won't quit futsal until I get a national championship, and I want to be a professional player and have the payback. And aiming to make the national futsal team and come through internationally, I would like to do the best I can from now on.

OSANAI Yusuke（FujiiGakuen Samugawa High School）
I'm frankly pleased that we finished third. As for myself, I'd not been able to do anything until yesterday, but since we had a chance, I played giving put my best. I think that I was able to exhibit my spirit that I wanted to pay bak to Yasu, who beat us in the group stage. As the whole team, I think we made progress throughout the tournament. It was the first big national stage for us and it was the very first tournament, and I'm glad that we came up with a certain outcome.

JFA-TV

Final　Nagoya OceansU-18　vs　Seiwa Gakuen FC

3rd Place Match　Shiga Pref Yasu High School 　vs　Fujii Gakuen Samugawa High School