Defender ITAKURA Kou's goal in two straight matches gave U-21 Japan National Team a 1-0 win over U-23 Thailand National Team on Saturday 13 January in their second match of Group B in the AFC U-23 Championship China 2018.

With the match between Palestine and DPR Korea resulting in a 1-1 draw, Japan were in position to qualify for the knockout stage with a win. Japan coach MORIYASU Hajime changed four players on his starting line-up from the first match on Wednesday 10, playing HARA Teruki on the right side of his three-man defence, ENDO Keita as a left wing-back, TAKAGI Akito as a right shadow striker and TAGAWA Kyosuke up front.

Thailand came out with a defensive approach allowing the Japanese-side to dominate the possession from early stage of the match. Japan's first chance came on the 5th minute when Endo received a pass from IWASAKI Yuto, cutting in from the left-side firing a shot from outside the box. FUJITANI So also attempts a cross from the right flank, but coming up short to find anyone. INOUE Shion, who mentioned before the match, "I will try to get involved more in offense," carried the ball up, threading through a pass in the 13th minute. Tagawa latched onto the pass, but his shot went wide of the target. Itakura's header in the 16th minute went straight at the Thailand goalkeeper. Japan kept going at it against Thailand's tenacious defence, but lacked the final touch to secure their first goal. Thailand made an effort after intercepting the ball, attempting a counter-attack, but Japan were able to stay composed and there were no threats created.

As Japanese skipper Moriyasu reflected after the game, "Our team showed a wide variety of goal-scoring opportunities, whether it’s a combination play, or attack from the flanks, or even from long distance," Japan did not show signs of slowing down, anticipating for a chance to score. Hara added an additional layer to its offence pressing up from the defensive line, Endo and Fujitani penetrated the flanks to create opportunities. MORISHIMA Tsukasa was subbed in for Iwasaki in the 63rd minute and HATATE Reo for Takagi in the 73rd minute. Endo, who received the ball from Inoue cuts in before sending the ball to Tagawa in the 86th minute. Tagawa brilliantly turned his body allowing him to take a shot, but was denied by the goalkeeper. Tagawa again unleashed a shot at goal off a deflection through a corner kick in the 88th minute. Hatate followed up after the ball was parried by the goalkeeper, but saw his shot strike the right post. The deadlock was broken in the 90th minute through a set piece situation. Inoue mentioned, "we would normally gone with a short pass or make a move to cut inside," but instead elected to float a cross towards the frontline. Defender Itakura capitalized on Tagawa's lay-off header with his right-foot to score the decider. In the final seconds of the five minute added time, goalkeeper KOJIMA Ryosuke saved a free kick, securing a 1-0 victory, giving the U-21 Japan National Team six points in the group stage. 

Match details

With this win, Japan will finish either first or second place in Group B, securing their way to the knockout stage. Japan will face the second-placed team of Group A in the quarterfinals if they finish top of their group, while they will face the first placed team of Group A if they finish second. Japan is scheduled to play their third match of group stage against DPR Korea on Tuesday 16.

Coach's and Players' Comments

MORIYASU Hajime, Coach
It's definitely a positive to earn a victory with a clean sheet, two matches in a row. We were able to create much more goal-scoring opportunities in the second half (compared to the first match). Although the goal came from a set play, we were composed throughout the match, adjusting according to our opponent’s tactics. There were times where we looked a little out of concentration, but our players kept talking to each other, staying in the game, and ultimately getting the result we were looking for. Our next match will decide if we head into the knockout stage as group winner or runner-up, so it’s an important game, but at the same time we are a team that just started up. We’ll take each game as an opportunity to build our foundation moving forward.

ITAKURA Kou, DF #4 (Vegalta Sendai)
I was surprised when the ball went in. It was a difficult game because we were constantly attacking, but couldn’t find a way to score a goal. We played both offensively and defensively as a team, and I think we won the game because we came together as a team, including players on the bench. Our next opponent, Korea DPR is a very physical and fast team. It will be another tough match, just like the first two, but we will prepare ourselves well, and get better as a team.

ENDO Keita, MF #11 (Yokohama F.Marinos)
We played good football overall, but just couldn’t score. And that is something we need to work on. We definitely need to take more shots, even in situations where it might not be the best option. If we can time ourselves better, we can improve much more as a team. Playing wing-back is not something I am familiar with, but I’d like to learn more so that I can play more effectively, hopefully earning more goals and assists for the team.

IWASAKI Yuto, MF #13 (F.C. Kyoto Sanga F.C.)
Our offence did not go as we planned, but we were able to squeeze that goal to advance to the knockout stage, so that was good. There were lots of space behind our forwards, so I kept pressing to fill that gap, but I need to be able to handle the ball with better quality. We tended to receive the ball in space today, but personally I felt like I needed to show for the ball behind our opponents back more often.

INOUE Shion, MF #16 (Tokyo Verdy)
Playing against a team dropping so deep, we tried attacking from different angles throughout the 90 minutes, and I’m just glad we were able to pull off that goal at the end. I felt like I could help our offense more by keeping a higher position, so I pressed higher than I did in the first match to apply pressure. I wanted to be a threat closer to the goal. I was determined to create a goal-scoring opportunity today.

Schedule

*Local Time
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

AFC U-23 Championship China 2018

Tournament Period: Wed. 10 - Sat. 27 January 2018

Japan's Matches:
Match 1st Wed. 10 January vs Palestine
Match 2nd Sat. 13 January vs Thailand
Match 3rd Tue. 16 January vs DPR Korea

For more information