The U-18 Japan National Team are currently holding a training camp in Marbella, Spain since 3 November. Due to the pandemic, the players in this age group have not been able to gain international experience since going on a tour in 2020, making this their first international tour in two and a half years.

Since arriving on 3 November, the team trained for four days before playing a training match against Algeciras CF, a local club who plays in the Primera Federacion (third tier of the Spanish football league system), on 8 November.

Facing a professional club consisting of players with great physiques, Japan had a difficult time finding their rhythm and conceded the opening goal in the early minutes. With the one goal lead, Algeciras took the initiative and continued to apply aggressive pressure from their frontline to pin-down the Japanese side.

Despite their early struggles, the Japanese players managed to settle down and build a positive momentum in the closing minutes of the first half. After making nine changes during halftime, Japan turned the tables in the second half. MINAMINO Harumi (Gamba Osaka Youth) led the way in the 46th minute, when he carried the ball from the right side before firing a left footed shot that levelled the score. Just three minutes later, MATSUMURA Kosuke (Yokohama F. Marinos Youth) responded to a through ball to score the go-ahead goal that put Japan ahead 2-1. With momentum on their side, Japan extended their lead in the 64th minute, when they forced a turnover in the opposing end, connected the ball through Matsumura and UCHINO Kotaro (Yokohama F. Marinos Youth), before setting up the goal of Minamino, who scored his second goal of the match to make it 3-1.

The match got heated in the closing minutes, as multiple cards were shown to both sides, but the U-18 Japan National Team managed to keep their composure and hang onto their lead to win the match.

The team will now play a set of friendlies against the U-18 Belgium National Team on 10 and 12 November.

Players’ Comments

MF #6 SHIMODA Yoshihiro (Kashima Antlers Youth)
First of all, I am very happy to be selected for this tour to Spain. In the last SBS Cup, we couldn't win against teams from other countries and ended up with a frustrating result. So, in this tour to Spain, we were determined to challenge ourselves even more and strive to win matches. Our first opponent in this tour was Algeciras CF, who consisted of players with great speed and athleticism. Although we were overwhelmed at first, we managed to make adjustments as a team to come from behind. While there were some aspects of the game that went well for me, I also made too many mistakes and committed too may fouls, which is a problem I need to fix. I must first recognise the issues I saw in this match and make the most of this experience to become a better player. We still have two more matches left, so we will continue to work as a team to showcase a better performance.

MF #8 MATSUMURA Kosuke (Yokohama F. Marinos Youth)
I entered the match in the second half while we were behind 0-1 under a unique atmosphere. We had a clear task, both individually and as a team, so I just went in with the intention of turning the match around. In that sense, I am really glad that I was able to score a goal that helped the team come from behind and win the match. However, I still felt the need to improve the quality of my passes, so that is something I want to focus on in our next match. I have always made conscious efforts to raise my intensity level at my club, so I didn’t have much trouble playing under pressure today. It got a bit dicey towards the end, but that was also something we can’t normally experience in Japan. We will continue to work hard as a team to earn a win against Belgium in our next match.

FW #7 MINAMINO Harumi (Gamba Osaka Youth)
With this Spain tour being our first tour abroad since February 2020, I entered this match with a sense of gratitude and the aim of gauging where I stand in the world right now. I am glad that I was able to score goals and contribute to the team’s defence by applying pressure from the frontline, but I also failed to take a shot from a counterattack, which allowed our opponents to initiate a counterattack of their own, so that was something I feel like I need to address from this match. This match also reminded me of the importance of communication. We were not on the same page and made many mistakes in our first couple of days of this tour, but we were able to get better as we spent more time communicating with each other. I feel very confident with the way we scored goals from turnovers. Although I am happy that I was able to score goals today, I am striving to become a consistent striker that can be reliable at all times, so I will continue to be keen to score goals in our remaining matches.