On Thursday 27 April, Japan Beach Soccer National Team held a training session for the World Cup first match against Poland on the following day.

After going through trunk training regimen, the players worked on their agility with stepping and dashing drills using sticks and cones. Then they engaged in a scrimmage with the number of touches they are allowed to make on the ball limited to three or less. The intra-squad game held in a rather relaxed manner wrapped up the last practice before the first match.

The World Cup itself began on this day as the entire Japanese squad visited a stadium in the afternoon to get the feel of the tournament atmosphere and imagine their own match by attending a contest already held on the tournament’s opening day.

Japan’s first match finally kicks off at 15:30 on Friday 28 against Poland.

Players' Comments

FP #9 AKAGUMA Takuya (Dorsole Kitakyushu)
Finally the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas began today. For our first match, today our Japan’s national team had agility drills and an intra-squad match with emphasis on making plays with less ball touches. The mood among the team is good, and we are getting ourselves ready mentally while we keep ourselves relaxed. And we went to a stadium, watch a game and experienced the atmosphere of the Cup and the facility. The atmosphere there was wonderful and made me want to play there as soon as possible. I can’t wait for tomorrow to come.

It’s been two years since the last World Cup, and it is finally the moment to let the disappointment we felt two years ago go away. The last tournament ended way before I was ready to help my team win. So this time I want to help my team win as much as possible. Until this World Cup, we have received a lot of cheers and supports. As we never forget our appreciation for them, we will fight with many people’s passion felt in our heart and try to exceed our limits. We will play hard as one united team, so please support us.

FP #8 OBA Takaaki (Tokyo Verdy BS)
Today we had a light workout session in the morning to get ready for the Poland match tomorrow. Then in the afternoon, we watched a match at the stadium and checked out the pitch condition and the facility atmosphere. Since we won out of the Asian qualifiers, there have been supports and cheers by so many people. We have been able to prepare for this World Cup in the best environment possible. I can never thank enough for that. We will play our heart out and make sure to get wins by all means in order to show our appreciation to those many people.

Schedule

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

FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017

27 April 2017 (Thu.) ～ 7 May 2017 (Sun.)
Tournament Information