The second day of the Japan Women's National Team short-listed squad’s training camp in Ishigaki Island on Tuesday 19 January saw one training session in the morning and the other in the afternoon. A welcome ceremony was hosted by Ishigaki city at the beginning of the training. The mayor NAKAYAMA Yoshitaka encouraged the players, and gave them some specialties of Ishigaki Island.

The players focused on attack on that day. In the morning, they practiced passing, following a set pattern repeatedly. Then they did some 3-on-5 and 6-on-7 in the afternoon, followed by checking various attack combinations in two groups. As SAMESHIMA later noted: "this practice is vital for the qualifying round", the players shared combinations and movements among them.

The defender KUMAGAI Saki (Olympique Lyonnais), who was on the pitch for her club team in France the previous weekend, joined the session. She came straight from the airport, and joined others on the ground as soon as she got changed. She expressed her excitement: "I was looking forward to playing for the national team", while showing her enthusiasm: "as we haven’t got much time before the qualifiers, this training camp is vital to go through various things in detail together."

The team held a team meeting in the evening, just like the day before, so that they can work on their playing style as a team. They will hold two practice sessions on 20 January.

Players' Comments

FW  OGIMI Yuki (1.FFC Frankfurt/Germany)
There is no doubt that I have to be one of the players, who leads the team. After SAWA’s retirement, I have started to feel more responsibility. Thinking of leading the team puts some pressure on me in a good way. I’d like to show what I can in every match as well as in the training sessions. We haven’t got much time before the Olympic qualifiers. I’d like to prepare as much as possible to win games by communicating with my teammates without wasting a second. We’ll share our playing style as a united team.

DF  SAMESHIMA Aya (INAC Kobe)
I aim to get myself in good condition, while improving our team combinations during this training camp. I still remember the frustration at the London Olympics four years ago, as well as in the final of the World Cup last year. Having said that, we cannot do anything without getting through the qualifiers. So I have to think about that first. I’d like to use this opportunity to play well together, so that we can improve as a team.

Schedule

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

Women's Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 - Asian Qualifiers Final Round

29 February 2016 - 9 March 2016
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