After the comfortable victory against Kyrgyz Republic, Japan had training in the afternoon ahead of tomorrow's clash against China. Since all the field players saw action in the first match, they mainly worked on running and stretching to remove fatigue and finished with passing drills with staff members joining in a relaxing mood. Two goalkeepers reviewed details such as positioning and goalkeeping forms under the instruction of goalkeeper coach HAMANO Yukiya.

In the morning, the squad had an exchange event with children at local elementary and junior high schools. This event is implemented into the tournament's programme as the players not only interacted with children through playing football together but also were welcomed with various types of hospitality such as presentation of children's hand-made masks and calligraphic encouraging messages.

Since the players do not usually have opportunities to interact with Chinese children, it turned out to be a great experience for them by making an active communications through football even though they were not able to communicate by words.

Players' Comments 

KOJIMA Ryosuke (Waseda University)
We visited Chinese elementary school and junior high school and had football exchanges in this morning. The small-sided game with them reminded me of how fun football is. I'm happy to have such a valuable experience. In the afternoon, we tuned up for tomorrow's match with recovery training.

Tomorrow's match is important in order to win the tournament. And because the opponents are China, it's going to be tough. We will work together as a team including substitutes to win the match.

SASAKI Takumi (Vegalta Sendai Youth)
Today we worked on recovery training such as jogging and ball passing drills. In the night meeting, we discussed what went well and what didn't go well in yesterday's match, and we were able to make a good preparation for tomorrow's match. We will play hard in tomorrow's match for the sake of Kunimoto, who got injured in the opener, and look for a victory as a team. Thanks for your support in advance.

Schedule

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

Panda Cup 2015
Four coutries of China, Kyrgyz Republic, Slovakia and Japan will play a round-robin.

Future Schedule