Monday, 11 August, 23 players joined in a U-21 Japan Provisional National Team training camp in Fukuoka. This is the third camp of this year after the first camp in March located in Tokyo and another camp in June located in Osaka. One of the camp member players NOTSUDA Gakuto (Sanfrecce Hiroshima)　could not join the training session today due to the typhoon. NISHINO Takaharu (Gamba Osaka)、MISHIMA Yuta (Avispa Fukuoka) are selected as the replacement camp member for ENDO Watary (Shonan Bellmare), IDE Haruya (JEF United)、NOZAWA Hideyuki (FC Tokyo) who cannot join due to injury.

“The FIFA World Cup ended and it is a new beginning for us. I feel special because we started our camp on the day of the inaugural press conference of Mr. Aguirre, the new head coach of Samurai Japan. I want the players to spend the time of the camp with sense of responsibility that they are leading the future of Japan’s football”, says TEGURAMORI Makoto, the Head Coach.

On the first day, the players who had matches on the previous day mainly had light exercises to relieve tiredness and the other players had a session for 90 minutes under Mr. TEGURAMORI’s coaching.

Tomorrow, the players will have two sessions in the morning and in the afternoon, and are expected to understand more of the team strategy.

Comments

IWANAMI Takuya（Vissel Kobe）
After the FIFA World Cup, we have to work hard to be selected as a squad member for the next World Cup. I think it is really meaningful that there are Asian Games and Olympic Football Tournament on the way to the World Cup. Our aim for the Asian Games is clear: we will prepare ourselves very well to win.
This training camp is the beginning for the Asian Games, the Olympic Football Tournament and SAMURAI BLUE. We want to maximise the 3 days of this camp and look forward to improving ourselves.

YAJIMA Shinya（Urawa Reds）
The team’s aim is the Olympic Football Tournament in Rio de Janeiro and this is my personal aim, too. We have such a limited time to practice as a national team so that I want to apply myself well, making the most of this opportunity. I also want to prepare myself very well to be selected as a squad member for the Olympic Football Tournament. It is such an honour to be selected for those opportunities; I always have to play well to be able to keep being selected to play in the national U-21 team.
Japan has won the last Asian Games. We could not win the East Asian Games and AFC U-22 Championship in Oman, so we want to win them this time. However, initially I want to prepare myself very well to be selected as a squad player.

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