The U-20 Japan Women’s National Team short-listed squad had their second day of the training camp on 11 October.

2 groups of field players and goalkeepers had separate sessions starting with pass & control in the morning. They practiced two types of passes which were one-touch and two-touch, giving the players insight into applying it in actual matches. They then carried on to other sessions such as 3-on-3 + free man, 5-on-5 focuses on breaking through defence lines.

The afternoon sessions began from playing tag using a ball. After warming-up, the players focused on defence which was their theme of this afternoon’s sessions. They had practical game style session, and 20 minutes × 2 intrasquad scrimmages.

Players' Comments

HAZA Hisui (NITTAIDAI FIELDS YOKOHAMA)
The main theme of this morning was quick counter attack from disadvantage in terms of number of defenders. In this quick attack, what was important was to decide if we should move the ball to the front quickly, or if we build-up offence taking time. In defence with fewer players, I understood the importance of communication amongst ourselves very well again.

Before the afternoon sessions, we had a meeting to promote more mutual understanding about defence tactics. We then carried on to intrasquad scrimmages with what we shared in the meeting. We could do what we talked about in the meeting as well as what we did in the morning, but there were some issues found. Tomorrow we have a training match so I will challenge what we have done and I will try to overcome the issues. This is the last short-listed squad camp prior to the World Cup, hence I will demonstrate myself maximising this given chance. I also want to improve my level in this opportunity.

MIZUTANI Yuki (University of Tsukuba)
In the morning, we had the sessions focusing on counter attacks. In the World Cup, we assume that our opponent teams will do more counter attacks, but we could be closer to the title if we can score from counter attacks. The things that were important were: quality of pass to forward players after stealing the ball, when and who will be a part of the play, and shooting accuracy. Personally, the most difficult was who will be a part of the play.

In the afternoon, we focused on defence and we also had an intrasquad scrimmages. The things that I found key were the importance of raising voice and checking surroundings in terms of defence. Since it is the repeating process of supporting your teammates or being supported by them, I have learned the importance of feeling the others and telling what you find to them. Tomorrow, we have a training match. I will maximise the combination play which we have improved throughout the camp, and personally I want to display my advantages playing both visible and invisible roles on the pitch.

Schedule

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