Japan Futsal National Team played the 2nd leg of their international friendlies against the Croatia Futsal National Team  at SD Gradski vrt in Osijek on 1 December.

After the frustrating defeat in the 1st leg, Japan were determine to gather themselves up as a team, but they conceded a goal just after three minutes in the first half. The players stayed ambitious for goals, swiftly passing the ball around. However, they could not find the back of the net despite numerous goal-scoring opportunities.

In the 12th minute, Croatia attacked Japan’s gap to strike another goal. The game went into the second half at 2-0. Japan, who wanted to pick up the pace in the second half, struggled to score even with their fine attack due to superb saves by the opponent. Then after 29 minutes, Japan let the opponent add further insurance. Although Japan threw everything into attack, Croatia had a solid defence and counter-attacking. Japan conceded another goal in the 40th minute, and lost the game 4-0.

As Japan could have won those matches, the result was extremely frustrating.

International Friendly Match  vs  Croatia Futsal National Team
2015-12-1 (Tue.) - 19:00 (Local time)　Playing Time: 40min (20min×2)
SD Gradski vrt/Osijek

Japan Futsal National Team　0-4 (0-2, 0-2)　Croatia Futsal National Team

Scores
3'　Goal against (Croatia Futsal National Team)
12'　Goal against (Croatia Futsal National Team)
29'　Goal against (Croatia Futsal National Team)
40'　Goal against (Croatia Futsal National Team)

Starting Five
GK: SEKIGUCHI Yushi (ESPOLADA HOKKAIDO)
FP: SAKAI Rafael Yoshio (NAGOYA OCEANS), NISHITANI Ryosuke (FUGADOR SUMIDA), NIBUYA Kazuhiro (VASAGEY OITA), MORIOKA Kaoru (NAGOYA OCEANS)

Players' Comments

FUJIWARA Jun (BARDRAL URAYASU)
It was crucial to see how much we have fixed the problems we found in the 1st leg. However, the game was tough, because we conceded a goal from a set piece early on, which we had prepared to avoid.

Perfect defence is essential to win a match when you play against a team of a similar level to yours. It was an excellent opportunity to play against the Croatia Futsal National Team. Personally, I took the results positively. Having said that, a result is everything for the national team. I’d like to prepare with a sense of pride as the national team for the coming match against the Czech Republic.

INABA Kotaro (FUGADOR SUMIDA)
We conceded a goal again early on in the game, followed by another goal through a set piece. As we lost the game, of course, there are many problems that need to be fixed. Many plays did not go well. Having said that, I can stay positive, knowing clearly what those tasks are, which can be to our advantages.

As we could fix some problems from the 1st leg, we’d like to continue that with confidence. We still have some time before the next match against the Czech Republic. So we’ll practice in detail, communicating well, so that we can improve ourselves through these defeats. I’ll do my best to raise the level of our team prior to the Asian qualifiers!

Schedule

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