On Friday 20 September, the U-16 Japan Women's National Team held their final training session ahead of their third and final group stage match of the AFC U-16 Women's Championship Thailand 2019 against the U-16 Thailand Women's National Team.

During the team meeting held in the morning, coach KANO Michihisa told his players, “let’s showcase what we have been working on. I want you to repeat the positive plays you displayed during our matches against Australia and Bangladesh.” The team went over the analysis report of their opponent, while addressing their own strong points to get themselves on the same page before the match. The team held a training session in the afternoon, as they went through a short, but intense session to go over their strategies for the upcoming match.

After playing two matches at IPE Chonburi Stadium, the third match will be played at Chonburi Stadium, so the team paid a visit to the venue to check out the pitch conditions.

The match between the U-16 Japan Women's National Team and the U-16 Thailand Women's National Team will kick-off at 4p.m. local time (6p.m. Japan time) on Saturday 21 September.

Coach and Players' Comments

KANO Michihisa, Coach (Sagawa Shiga FC)
Since arriving to Thailand, we have seen improvements on our players’ conditions over the first two matches. We will try to showcase everything we’ve worked on, while implementing what we’ve learned through the previous two matches. We have prepared ourselves to showcase an aggressive style of football against Thailand, who will be playing on their home soil. As we spend more time with each other, on and off the pitch, our teamwork and the team atmosphere have improved dramatically. Our top priority for tomorrow is to win the match. While winning the match, we will also need to top the league in goal differential, so we will prepare ourselves in the best way possible, so that we can advance through to the knockout stage as the group leader.

GK #18 HATTORI Momoka (JFA Academy Fukushima)
Although we struggled to control our defence line in our first match against Australia, we managed to do a better job in our second match against Bangladesh. Our overall performance has improved over the two matches, and we hope to keep that trend going for our third match against Thailand. One of the aspects we must improve on is our finishing. As a goalkeeper, I will focus to get myself involved in our build-up plays, if our opponents aren’t pressing hard from their front line. We must continue to play aggressively even after scoring a goal in tomorrow’s match. We hope to keep this positive vibe going and strive to win back to back matches, as our goal is to win this AFC Championship title.

DF #22 ASAKURA Kanako (Osaka Gakugei Senior High School)
I have been focusing on maintaining my physical conditions for the past two days. Goal differentials will play a key role in our advancement to the next stage, so we must capitalise our chances while keeping a clean sheet. I have been preparing to get myself involved in our offence, so if I am given the opportunity to play, I will give my best effort to help the team win.

FW #20 NISHIKIORI Miki (JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18)
In the past two days, we have been working to heighten the quality of our plays while increasing the pace of each play. In order to keep up with the pace, I must make quicker decisions on the field. We must also apply quicker pressure towards our opponents. Throughout this tournament, I am given the opportunity to face teams I wouldn’t be able to face if I was in Japan, so I have enjoyed every match we’ve played so far. As a forward, I hope to make many runs and get myself involved in our team’s goals. Goal differentials will be a key factor for us, so we hope to score as many goals as possible to win the match and advance to the next stage as the group leader.

Schedule

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

AFC U-16 Women's Championship Thailand 2019

Tournament Dates: Sun. 15 - Sat. 28 September 2019

Group Stage:
Sun. 15 September 18:00 (Japan time)
vs U-16 Australia Women's National Team

Wed. 18 September 18:00 (Japan time)
vs U-16 Bangladesh Women's National Team

Sat. 21 September 18:00 (Japan time)
vs U-16 Thailand Women's National Team

Tournament Information