One day after their 9-0 victory over the Chinese Taipei Women’s National Team in their first match of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2019, the Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women’s National Team) held a training session on Thursday 12 December to prepare for their match against the China PR Women’s National Team.

After the regular season of the Nadeshiko League came to an end in November, many players had only the Empress's Cup left to play, and with the team facing two matches in a four day span, the team had to monitor the players’ conditions up close. In order to recover from the match, the players who featured the starting line-up remained at the hotel to recover their bodies, while DOKO Mayo was also side-lined due to an injury. The remaining players showed up to the training field to work up a sweat, as the team prepared ahead of their match against China PR.

During the team meeting, the players watched the match film against Chinese Taipei, as coach TAKAKURA Asako praised her players, “There were many matches where we dominated the match but couldn’t score any goals. That was not the case in this match, as our players showed great quality to score many goals.” As the coaches went over the team concepts and strategies, the players were given the opportunity to get on the same page with their teammates through this meeting.

The Nadeshiko Japan will play their second match of the EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2019 agaisnt the China PR Women's National Team on Saturday 14 December at 15:55.

Players' Comments

DF #5 MINAMI Moeka (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies)
We knew we were going to be on the attacking end for the majority of the time in our match against Chinese Taipei, so I entered the match with the intention to promptly respond against counterattacks and long balls. Although we didn’t see much threats created, I am glad we managed to keep our focus throughout the 90 minutes. After seeing the opposing forward dropping back to play defence, I talked with MIYAKE to push our defence line up, which allowed our midfielders to press higher, ultimately adding more layers to our offence. Also, by keeping our defence line in a higher position, we managed to get more offside calls, especially compared to our match against South Africa in November. With the team playing without KUMAGAI, each player is required to take the leadership role, and I think that is something the team needs to reach a higher level.

FW #15 TANAKA Mina (Nippon TV Beleza)
It was great to see our team score many goals in our first match of the tournament. After IWABUCHI scored the opening goal, I was able to score the second goal by showcasing my ability to face the goal even with the defenders surrounding me. I was able to keep my composure to check where the goalkeeper was positioned and lift the ball into that upper corner. With the football season coming to an end, we are definitely fatigued, but we are also very eager to win the tournament title. The team is surrounded by a positive vibe right now, so we will continue to work hard and strive to win the remaining matches.

Schedule

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

EAFF E-1 Football Championship 2019 Final Korea Republic

Tournament Dates: Tue. 10 - Wed. 18 December 2019
Tournament Venue: Busan Gudeok Stadium/Busan Asiad Main Stadium (Korea Republic)
Participating Countries: Chinese Taipei, China PR, Japan, Korea Republic

Tournament Information

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