A new international championship “the U-16 International Dream Cup 2015 JAPAN Presented by JFA” will be held in Osaka from 24 June. One of the strongest team from each continent, namely Chile, Costa Rica, and France, will participate in this very first championship. We will introduce participants in the coming two articles.

U-16 Japan National Team

The U-15 Japan National Team head coach MORIYAMA Yoshiro will lead the team for this championship. It will be the first activity for the U-16 Japan National Team since the 2015 Tournament Delle Nazioni in Italy in April. Some players participated in the AFC U-16 Championship last year and felt frustrated. MORIYAMA, expressing his expectation for the players, said: “they can find a new awareness, of their strengths and weakness through genuinely tough games.”

U-16 Chile National Team

The U-16 Chile National Team ran around fiercely for 90 minutes in the FIFA World Cup in Brazil last year to show off their swift attack and defence. The same spirit must have passed to this younger team. The players were gathered from the big clubs to play for Chile.

Some players are chosen from the youth teams of clubs familiar to Japan, such as Colo Colo, who participated in the Toyota Cup in 1991 as the South American champion, and Universidad de Chile, who played an exciting match against Kashima Antlers in the Suruga Bank Championship in 2012.

The U-16 International Dream Cup 2015 JAPAN Presented by JFA will kick-off on Wednesday 24 June. 

Every match of this championship will be free of charge.

Head Coaches' Comments

MORIYAMA Yoshiro, Head Coach (U-16 Japan National Team)
The generation, who will take part in this championship, aims at participating in the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2019. This championship will be vital for the players to add to their experience every year.

All the participating countries have got through the group stage in the World Cup last year, and we will have an opportunity to play against them. If you try hard in tough matches, you can find your strengths as well as weaknesses. I hope the players will do their best and achieve something, feeling “they can do it.”

Hernán Caputto, Head Coach (U-16 Chile National Team)
It will be a great experience for us, the U-16 Chile National Team, to visit Japan and see a new culture, not to mention taking part in the championship with other great teams. I appreciate the Japan Football Association for inviting us and look forward to playing in this high-level tournament.

Schedule

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

Future Schedule