The U-20 Japan Women’s National Team short-listed squad, who are to participate in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Papua New Guinea this November, started their training camp in Niigata on Monday 20 June.

On Monday 20 June, the first day of the training, the players focused on recovery, as each respective team, including those in the Nadeshiko League, had matches the day before. They held a one-hour session in the morning. 

In the afternoon, the players started with some passing and controlling of the ball, followed by practicing possession in groups of seven. They moved on to shot training and played a 7-on-7 practice game to finish the session. 

After dinner, OGAWA Yoshimi, the Chairman of Referee's Committee, gave the players a lecture about the changes to the rules.

Some players asked questions to the Ogawa Chairman after the lecture, which showed their enthusiasm. 

The team will play a practice match against Teikyo Nagaoka High School at 16:00 on Tuesday 21 June.

Players' Comments

HIRAO Chika (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies)
I focused on recovering in the morning, and felt refreshed by seeing my teammates for the first time after a while or by having fun conversations with the new faces. In the afternoon, we concentrated on improving ourselves together. To become the world champions, I must improve myself, while building a competitive environment and atmosphere with my teammates. We will play a practice game against high school boys. I’d like to stay aggressive, showing off my skills.

MATSUBARA Shiho (CEREZO OSAKA SAKAI LADIES)
After today’s training session, I realised that I needed to improve the quality of my passing and controlling as well as shooting. Although we haven’t got much time to practice together due to our respective club’s league matches and cup games, I’d like to build up coordination in the team as much as possible. I’ll practice hard, so that I can raise the level of my performance, and fix my problems. 

UENO Mami (EhimeFCLadies)
As there are many players, with whom I have never played, I’m still struggling to coordinate better. Having said that, I’d like to focus on each play, displaying my skills by improving the quality and accuracy of my passing. I want to contribute to the team in tomorrow’s game through assisting or scoring goals.

Schedule

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