AFC U16 Championship
Sun. 14 September 2014 Kick Off : 15:30 90minutes (45minutes halves)
Rajamangala National Stadium (Bangkok, Thailand）

U-16 Japan National Team　0 - 2(1st 0-1、2nd 0-1) U-16 Korea National Team

Scores
42min　LEE SEUNGWOO（U-16 Korea National Team）
47min　LEE SEUNGWOO（U-16 Korea National Team）

Starters
GK：CHIDA Keito
DF：ISHIKAWA Hiroto、SHIMOGUCHI Wakaba、TOMIYASU Takehiro、DOAN Ritsu
MF：SUGA Daiki、WATANABE Kouta、FUJIMOTO Kanya
FW：ONOZAWA Toshiki、NAGASAWA Ryosuke、WATANABE Yo

Substitutes
GK：INOUE Seiya、TSURUTA Kaito
DF：MORIOKA Riku、ABE Masashi、TANAKA Kosuke、ASADA Shogo
MF：YOSHIDA Shun、TANAKA Ao
FW：SASAKI Takumi、SUGIURA Fumiya、HANYA Yosuke、YASUI Takuya

HT　WATANABE Yo → SUGIURA Fumiya
50min　ISHIKAWA Hiroto → ABE Masashi
80min　SHIMOGUCHI Wakaba → TANAKA Kosuke

Match Report

The U-16 Japan National Team played against their Asian rivals, Korea, which was the qualifying match for the ‘FIFA U-17 World Cup 2015 Chile’. Japan took the initiative right after kick-off, pressing the Korea national team, with Japan’s passing playing style of play. In the 21st minute and 25th minute, Japan had some goal-scoring opportunities. They were just one step away from scoring. After 42 minute, although Japan seemed to have a chance to score, drawing the opponent into the penalty area, Korea counter-attacked instead. LEE SEUNGWOO received the ball at the centre to start a swift attack, passing it to KIM JUNGMIN on the left wing. Then he dribbled up to near the goal line and passed the ball back to LEE, who struck an opener with his right feet.

In the second half, Japan tried to start attacks from the both sides, as Korea had a solid defence in the centre, with SUGIUR out at left back. However, in the 47th minute, the forward LEE SEUNGWOO, who received the ball at around the halfway line, dribbled up alone for approximately 50 metres and struck another goal. Japan changed their formation from having one defensive midfielder sitting behind two more defensive midfielder, to having two defensive midfielders with two free players in order to attack even more. ABE, who came off the bench, started the attack from the right wing again and again, but Japan could not find the back of the net. Although all the Korean players except one forward stayed back to defend, Japan’s wing backs could move forward, receiving the ball from the centre-back in order to have more chances at attack. Japan never gave up and kept showing their ambition for goals, but final whistle came first. Japan was knocked out the Asian qualifying round for the World Cup for the first time in five championships.

Comments

YOSHITAKE Hirofumi, Head Coach
I had expected a tough game coming up and it was a really hard one. We couldn’t attack through Korea’s solid defensive line and couldn’t defend against their swift counterattacks, which I’m very unhappy about. I think the difference between Korea and us was a determination to get the ball and attack. Having said that, we kept possession a lot more than the opponent. So an ideal team to lead Asia will be the one with the strength of both teams. I regret that we conceded two goals while we were having one of those typical bad moments you get in a football match. If the score had stayed 0-0 or 1-0 until 75 minutes, I think we could have turned the game around. I thought I’ve been telling the players for a year and a half that the next goal at 1-0 is vital, which they haven’t understood yet. They also could have been more conscious of checking the opponent’s positioning and sharing that information with the team - who’s away from his mark and where there’s a gap. The players tried their best until the last whistle and I felt their motivation to do whatever they could. The reason we couldn’t attack through the Korean defensive line was the fact they focused on a strong defence by doing their homework on us and knowing about our game.

FUJIMOTO Kanya(Tokyo Verdy Junior Youth)
We passed the ball around really rhythmically and had a good defence until we conceded a goal in the first half. Although I really regret that we conceded a goal in the first half, we should have scored while we had the initiative. Every strong team has a strong striker just like Korea. So scoring an opener is vital to break the opponent’s balance and stop their attack. This team will breakup soon, but I’d like to improve myself, so that we can play together again for the U-20 World Cup.

TOMIYASU Takehiro(Avispa Fukuoka U-18)
It was very frustrating that we gave up a goal while we put our guard a little down in the first half. Until then, we completely held their ace player and knew that they were frustrated. So it’s disappointing that we couldn’t end the first half with zero goals allowed. In terms of our power and speed, we still have a long way to go to develop, so we would like to remember today’s experience and work as hard as possible in our daily practices.

WATANABE Yo(Urawa Reds Youth)
It’s really frustrating and disappointing that we were not able to win in a game that we could punch a ticket for the world stage. We had the momentum in the first half, and we were unable to capture our opponents’ defense, which completely played defensively in their back field, in the second half, and it left a lot of issues we have to work on. I would like to keep working hard in order to get in the national teams of the upper categories, taking advantage of this experience.

Schedule