28 August, one day before the Final of the AFC U-19 Women’s Championship China 2015, U-19 Japan Women’s National Team had a final training session. They started with a pass & control session, then moved on to penalty shootout practice and then an 11-on-11 game. The players checked their formation and combination to get ready for the match on the following day.

U-19 DPR Korea Women’s National Team, which Japan will play in the Final, has kept a clean sheet since the first match with 17 goals. The team’s coach Hwang Yong-bong said, “Japan is the top Asian team and they are well organised. The most important things are consistent defense and strong mentality.”

Japan’s aim is to go to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup as the Asian Champion. The Final will kick-off at 8pm (9pm Japan time) of 29 August.

Coach and Players' Comments

TAKAKURA Asako, Coach
In the meeting, I told them that all of us, including the starting players and the substitute players, need to be well united to get the victory. There isn’t a big gap between them.  The journey to the World Cup has already started since we qualified for it at this championship. We will keep a good level of focus and will make a good game by making most of our advantages such as organised play and hard work. 

DF #5   NORIMATSU Ruka (Urawa Reds Ladies)
I believe that we can beat any team if we can keep our level of play. I definitely want to get the winners medal at this championship. To me, DPR Korea is a powerful team in both defense and offense.

We were also good at switching between offense and defense in the previous match against Korea Republic so we want to keep this level in the next one. Raising voice on the pitch helps us a lot, so we keep raising voice to communicate with each other as much as possible during the Final. 

MF #8   HASEGAWA Yui (Nippon TV Beleza)
I have such a strong passion to win this championship; previously, we couldn’t qualify for the World Cup and personally I haven’t experienced being the top of Asia before. It was one of our objectives to get the ticket to play at the World Cup, but winning this championship is another objective for all of us, so we have stayed concentrated very well during these past 2 days. 

I will keep a strong mentality especially in any difficult and intensive moment like any 1-on-1 situations. My advantage is to receive the ball well even in a busy situation and to stay consistent in the middle. I want to make a difference whether I’m in the middle or on the wing, and I also want to score. 

Schedule

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