On Friday 18 November, the U-15 Japan National Team departed for their first international tour to Spain. In order to keep the players on the same page, the team held a meeting where Head Coach HIROYAMA Nozomi spoke about the team concept and the objective of the tour before leaving Japan.

The U-15 Japan National Team played the U-15 Wales National Team in their opening match of the Football Federations Cup on 23 November, the same day of the SAMURAI BLUE’s historic victory over Germany in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. Although the players struggled to deal with the speed and pressure of their opponents, Japan managed to take the initiative from the early minutes. The opening goal came in the 37th minute, when KUMASHIRO Keito connected the ball to HAMASAKI Kento, who delivered a cross that was converted by DOI Yuji.

The second half saw Wales take control of the ball possession, but led by their goalkeeper ARAKI Rui, Japan battled valiantly to keep the clean sheet intact. In the 73rd minute, EGUCHI Takuma carried the ball form the right side before firing a shot from inside the box. Although this shot was blocked by a Welsh defender, SEKIGUCHI Kota converted the loose ball to double the lead. With their defence keeping the Welsh offence at bay, Japan managed to start the tournament with a 2-0 victory.

The U-15 Japan National Team will now face the U-15 Spain National Team on Friday 25 November.

Players' Comments

MF #20 DOI Yuji (H&AFC Junior Youth)
It was truly a team effort, so I am happy that we were able to earn this victory together. I also feel like we were able to actively display our football. I feel like I still need to improve the quality of my plays and decisions, but I am glad I was able to contribute to the team’s victory by scoring a goal. We will keep pushing ourselves to make the team better.

DF #12 OKAWA Yugo (Kashima Antlers Junior Youth)
It was great that we were able to achieve our goal of finishing the match against Wales by scoring more than two goals and conceding no more than one goal. However, we did give up some close chances to our opponents while failing to capitalise on our own chances. Personally, I made conscious efforts to improve the issues that came up in training and training matches as I entered this match. I feel the need to improve the overall quality of my plays, technique, and positioning, so those are some of the things I hope to improve from this tour. I would like to thank everyone involved in organising the tournament, my family and the team staff for their support, which made it possible for me to play in this special environment.

FEDERATIONS CUP

Tournament period: Wed. 23 - Sun. 27 November 2022
Venue: La Nucia Camilo Cano (Spain)

Tournament Information