One day before their semi-final match against the U-16 China PR Women's National Team at the AFC U-16 Women's Championship Thailand 2019, the U-16 Japan Women's National Team held a training session on Tuesday 24 September.

A win at the semi-final will not only secure their spot to the tournament final, but also clinches the team for next year’s FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup held in India.

Ahead of this crucial match, the team held a meeting to share and discuss their observation from the match between China PR and DPR Korea at the group stage. The players shared their thoughts while the technical staffs gave insights from their observations as well.

The team then held a training session for about an hour to go over their tactics and set-pieces to prepare for the match.

In the afternoon, coaches from the four teams advancing to the semi-finals appeared in a joint press conference, where coach KANO Michihisa took the podium along with coaches of Australia, DPR Korea, and China PR.

The U-16 Japan Women's National Team will face the U-16 China PR Women's National Team in the semi-final on Wednesday 25 September at 16:00 (18:00 Japan time).

Coach and Players' Comments

KANO Michihisa, Coach (Sagawa Shiga FC)
We have mentally and physically prepared ourselves ahead of this semi-final match and made sure that we are all on the same page in terms of understanding the team concept. We will give our best efforts as a team and focus on getting our jobs done on the field. I hope the players will get on the pitch tomorrow with confidence and a sense of gratitude towards all the people who have supported them. Although it is important that we play aggressively from the start, we must also keep in mind to control the game and conserve our energy to maintain our intensity for 90 minutes. We will also prepare ourselves in case the match enters into penalty shootouts.

MF #13 MINOWA Chisato (Hinomoto Gakuen Senior High School)
Following our match against Thailand, we have analysed our opponent to prepare ourselves ahead of the semi-finals. We had been playing with two-day rests throughout the group stage, but we are now given three days ahead of our next match, so we have been able to prepare thoroughly. My strong point lies on my speed and ability to make runs into the open space, so I hope to showcase my character to help the team win the match and earn our spot into the World Cup.

MF #19 NISHIGORI Mahiro (Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara Due)
After playing our match against Thailand, we focused on recovering our bodies first. Once we have recovered, we conducted meetings and training sessions to get ourselves on the same page in terms of the team strategy. At the semi-final match, I will try to create as many opportunities as possible with my through balls. As a team, we will try to maintain an aggressive approach and apply pressure from the front line throughout the match. We hope to enter the match with great intensity so that we can build a momentum that can lead us to winning the tournament title.

FW #7 NEBU Momoko (Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara Avvenire)
With the help of our medical staffs, we have focused on taking care of our conditions in the past three days. In terms of football, I have been working on the timing of my runs and finishing based on the scout report of China PR. In tomorrow’s match, we hope to showcase what we have been working on and showcase a good performance that will give us a positive momentum for the final. I personally would like to score goals to help the team win the match.

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

Semi-Final:
Wed. 25 September 2019 18:00 (Japan time)
vs U-16 China PR Women's National Team

Tournament Information