The Argentina Futsal National Team arrived in Japan on Tuesday, 12 December ahead of two international friendly matches against the Japan Futsal National Team at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo on Thursday, 14 December and Obihiro City General Gymnasium in Hokkaido on Sunday, 17 December.

Despite the long travel, the team started training soon after arriving in Japan.

The international friendlies between the Japan Futsal National Team and the Argentina Futsal National Team will kick off at 19:00 on Thursday and 13:00 on Sunday.

Coach and Player's Comments

Matias LUCUIX, Head Coach
This is my fourth visit to Japan, including when I was a player, so I am very familiar with the country. I think Japan is a beautiful and advanced country with a wonderful culture, and it gives me great pleasure to come back here again. I hope the players in this squad will also take the opportunity to experience Japanese culture and traditions. We were able to call up a lot of the players we wanted for this friendly. The chance to play against strong opponents like Japan will help us grow and be an important opportunity to assess our players ahead of next year's Copa America. We will take our time to rest and get used to the time difference so that we can go into the two matches in good shape. We will do our best to make the matches exciting for the Japanese fans.

Constantino VAPORAKI (Riga Futsal Club/Latvia)
Having represented Argentina in 2013, this is my second time in Japan. Under the guidance of some great coaches from abroad, the Japan Futsal National Team has grown a lot in recent years, and I feel that futsal culture has spread throughout the country. I think Japan are a really strong team and they deserve to be respected. The Argentina Futsal National Team has maintained the same characteristics over the last 8-10 years, especially the mental aspect. Regardless of the importance of the match, and whether we are winning or losing, we are determined to give it our all and fight for the full 40 minutes in search of a win, and this approach has definitely led to our recent success. These friendlies are very important for us because they are our last international matches before the South American qualifiers for the World Cup, which start in less than two months. It's going to be a great match between two strong teams, so please come and watch us.

Argentina Futsal National Team

Coach

Matias LUCUIX (Argentina)

Squad

GK
 1   Nicolas SARMIENTO (Noia FS/Spain)
12  Matias STARNA (Servigroup Peniscola FS/Spain)

FP
14  Pablo TABORDA (Jaen Paraiso Interior/Spain)
 7   Alan BRANDI (Jaen Paraiso Interior/Spain)
10  Constantino VAPORAKI (Riga Futsal Club/Latvia)
 6   Sebastian CORSO (Industrias Santa Coloma/Spain)
 2   Lucas TRIPODI (Ribera Navarra FS/Spain)
 9   Matias ROSA (Jaen Paraiso Interior/Spain)
 3   Angel CLAUDINO (Ribera Navarra FS/Spain)
 8   Matias EDELSTEIN (Sociedad Hebraica Argentina)
 5   Dylan VARGAS (Riga Futsal Club/Latvia)
13  Kevin ARRIETA (Ferro Carril Oeste)
11  Leandro ALTAMIRANO (Noia FS/Spain)
 4   Agustin RAGGIATI (Noia FS/Spain)

International Friendly Match

Fixture: Japan Futsal National Team vs Argentina Futsal National Team
Date: Thu. 14 December 2023 19:00
Venue: Ota City General Gymnasium (Tokyo)
Match information

Fixture: Japan Futsal National Team vs Argentina Futsal National Team
Date: Sun. 17 December 2023 13:00
Venue: Obihiro City General Gymnasium (Hokkaido)
Match information

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