On 19th one night after the match against Finland, SAMURAI BLUE started training from 9:30. Given limited to one hour training time, they spent most of time reviewing the problems raised during previous day match. Head coach Moriyama kept telling detailed advice about where to place the ball saying “place the ball where you can give pass to either right or left and place the ball you can pass or shoot.”

Three sessions of meeting were held in the afternoon dividing a time slot. In the first session, only the players participated in reviewing recorded tape of the previous day’s game. It followed by the second session of viewing the “the AFC U-19 Championship” held last year and learned the timing of when to speed up referring to the offensive patterns by technical staff Katagiri. Assistant coach Saito delivered lecture on “how to start the game” in the third session and telling his experience of playing in the World Cup.

Lastly they celebrated 51st birthday of team doctor Kato who has been supporting national team for 20 years. They will take on Lithuania tomorrow.

Players Comments

FW TAKAHASHI Toshiki (Saitamasakae High School)
We had training only in the morning and we were pretty focused. I believe we hold a good preparation. I am going to go for scoring goal no matter how I score it. Going to target for a goal recklessly and create results. We as a team sharing an image of “the timing of taking the other side’s back space” which is team goal and create more scoring chances than the first game.

FW IWASAKI Yuto (Kyoto Tachibana High School)
It was a short meeting but actually very productive. I am ready to start the game in good condition tomorrow. I spent free time in the afternoon productively by reviewing the previous day’s game with team mate and checked the points to revise. As I have better understanding of team mate style and wants, I believe I can play better game than the first match. Having not scored in the first game, I want to contribute to the team by getting goal.

Schedule

※The schedule may be subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.