AFF NutiFood U19 Cup 2014　vs. U-19 Vietnam National Team
Tuesday 9 September 2014  19:00 Kick Off 90miutes(45minutes halves)
My Dinh Stadium(Vietnam/hanoi)

U-19 Japan National Team　3-2(1st 0-1、2nd 3-1)　U-19 Vietnam National Team

Scores
21min Goal Against （U-19 Vietnam National Team）
58min IDEGUCHI Yosuke（U-19 Japan National Team）
84min NAKANO Masaomi（U-19 Japan National Team）
88min KANEKO Shota（U-19 Japan National Team）
90min Goal Against (PK）（U-19 Vietnam National Team）

Starters
GK：NAKAMURA Kosuke
DF：TAKAGI Daisuke、UCHIYAMA Yuki、MIURA Genta、SAKAI Daisuke
MF：SUGIMOTO Taro、OYAMA Keisuke、IDEGUCHI Yosuke、OKUGAWA Masaya
FW：OCHI Yamato、KANEKO Shota

Substitutes
GK：YOSHIMARU Kenshin
DF：FUJITANI So、SHINDO Ryosuke、MOTEGI Rikiya
MF：OGAWA Naoki、ANDO Akira、NAKANO Masaomi
FW：OMOTEHARA Genta、KITAGAWA Kohya

HT UCHIYAMA Yuki→ MOTEGI Rikiya
54分 SUGIMOTO Taro → NAKANO Masaomi
70分 OCHI Yamato → OMOTEHARA Genta

Match Report

Japan’s second match of the tournament against Vietnam started in the stadium filled with 32,000 Vietnamese supporters, which made it a complete away circumstance for Japan.

Although both teams have already ensured spots in the semi-finals, the match turned out that they did not stay defensive and aggressively attacked each other’s side. In the 21st minute, Vietnam broke through Japan’s defence by acute passes from the centre. Then Vietnam’s player fired a middle-range shot from the edge of the box and Japan allowed an opening goal. Japan, who then looked to come back, started an attack just after the lost goal when Ochi launched a right-footed shot in front of the goal, but the opposing goalkeeper denied an equaliser attempt. Sugimoto and Okugawa also created opportunities around the box but couldn’t convert into a goal, either, to finish the first half with Vietnam leading at 0-1.

After the break, in the 50th minute Japan took their pace as Okugawa got through to the box and stuck a shot from Idekuchi’s setup, but the opposing goalkeeper again held on to it. In the 53rd, Okugawa again smashed the pass from the right flank into the box, but it did not level the score as it unfortunately came back off the post. But in the 58th, Japan’s efforts finally paid off when Kaneko received the ball from a throw-in on the left side and passed it to Ideguchi. After his great first control, he sent a middle-range blast with his right-foot into the right corner of the net to tie the score.

As both teams aggressively tried to take a lead in a close match with the score squared, it was Japan that eventually grabbed the go-ahead goal. In the 84th minute, after Okugawa danced through the left flank, substituted Omotehara received the ball and cut into the box to pull the defender. Nakano, who also just came onto the pitch during the match, put the pass from Omotehara into the right corner to turn around the score. In the 88th, Kaneko received the ball on the left and dribbled past defenders, and he found the right corner of the net with great composure watching the goalkeeper’s move to give his side an extra lead. In the closing minutes, Japan gave away a penalty kick in the scrambled penalty box. Vietnam sent it to the centre of the goal and made it one goal down. But it was a little too late for Vietnam and Japan won 3-2 to secure the top spot in the Group B and got through to the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, Japan will face Thailand, who are placed second in the Group A. The match will be held at 7 pm local time on 11th.
Please keep your eye on Japan National U-19 Team’s performance.

Comments

NAKANO Masaomi（Tokyo Verdy Youth）
We needed to win the match today because the opposition was Vietnam, who we will meet in the AFC U-19 Championship in October. Playing in the stadium filled with Vietnam fans was a great experience. It was very good to battle it out and grabbed a win keeping our concentration to the end. I’m personally happy with the goal I scored. As we play more matches, our communication among the team has got better. We will try to enhance it in the rest of the two matches. For the upcoming match, I’m going to get ready understanding my own role.

MOTEGI Rikiya（Urawa Reds Youth）
I started playing midway through the match today. The match was against host country Vietnam, so the stadium was nearly full and had a good atmosphere. I’m satisfied that we could deny the opponent’s attacks and succeeded in covering spaces in front of the goal in the second half. I will try to understand better what I’m required if I get a chance to play again. We will work together to get the championship not being satisfied with today’s victory.

Schedule