The U-19 Japan National Team short-listed squad began their training camp on Monday 11 April in Osaka with an eye toward the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup to be held in Korea Republic.

At a meeting before the session, coach UCHIYAMA Atsushi shared his team concept together with newly-selected players, using video footage of their Bahrain trip last month, Japan's senior national team, the J.League and professional clubs around the world. The squad went out onto the pitch after that. While the players who played a match for their belonging club before this camp went through running-centred recovery training, the others played small-sided game training with the ball such as a 3-on-2 passing workout as well as 5-on-5 and 6-on-6.

The camp includes training with morning and afternoon sessions on Tuesday 12 before the squad plays a practice match against Gamba Osaka on Wednesday 13.

Players' Comments

MIYOSHI Koji (Kawasaki Frontale)
It's a short camp just for three days. But individually, I was called up after a while, so I will play aggressively as well as stick to results. Because each day will be important during the limited time until the final qualifying round in October, I need to take actions to help the team out as much as possible.

WADA Masashi (Yokohama F・Marinos)
I'm honoured to be called up to the national team camp again. I got some ideas on the team's atmosphere and football in the last camp, so I will try to showcase my strength in the team more than last time. It's a short time, but I want to get something out of it and keep it up with my team Marinos. Getting an opportunity to play a match is very important, and I will work hard to get involved in chances in some way and hopefully get a goal.

MACHIDA Koki (Kashima Antlers)
Today before the training, we watched videos on the senior national team, the J.League and Barcelona and shared the style of football we are aiming at. The camp has just three days, but we won't waste the time and have a match against Gamba Osaka on the final day. We will stick to results and make it fruitful ahead of the October's AFC U-19 Championship.

Schedule

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