On Thursday 20 October, the Japan Beach Soccer National Team held an official training session in preparation for the Super Cup of Nations in Santos, São Paulo (Brazil).

In the meeting prior to training, they watched the video footage of the Brazil match in March and reviewed the characteristics of Brazilian football, while checking upon the issues of the previous encounter.

The official training only lasted for 45 minutes due to tournament regulations, but the team had a highly focused and meaningful practice session. After a brief warm-up, they played a four-a-side intrasquad scrimmage, while coach Marcelo MENDES gave specific instructions focusing on defence, and reviewed their team tactics in details to compete against Brazil.

The first match against Brazil in the Super Cup of Nation will kick off at 16:30 local time on 21 October. Considering the fact that Japanese side got utterly beaten by Brazil (2-6, 4,8) in March, it will be a crucial match in determining the current level of their beach soccer.

Players' Comments

FP #3  HARAGUCHI Shotaro (Inter Japan BS)
I sincerely appreciate the opportunities that are given to me to play in the international friendlies in Hyogo Prefecture, compete in the Asian Beach Games, and participate in the Brazil/UAE camp. I have been preparing myself for the competition starting tomorrow. We were able to check upon the issues discussed during the meeting in our training today. I am aiming to win all the matches and claim the title of the Super Cup. Hopefully, I can contribute to the victory of the team on the pitch also.

FP #9  AKAGUMA Takuya (Dorsole Kitakyushu)
Today, we had the final official training prior to the competition. While most of the practice were spent playing the intrasquad game, we were still able to communicate amongst ourselves and make a good preparation for the first match. We lost against Brazil in March and Italy in the last World Cup. This is a great opportunity for us to avenge the previous losses. We do not want to miss this chance both as a team and also as an individual. All three teams are tough opponents, but we will focus on not only the results but also the overall performance. We are gaining confidence after winning both the friendlies against Tahiti and the Asian Beach Games. Therefore, we want to win this championship and build up momentum for the qualifiers of the World Cup.

Schedule

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