On Friday 9 November, the U-17 Japan Women’s National Team held a training session four days ahead of their first match against Brazil at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Uruguay 2018. The players were seen conducting intense and practical drills to work up a sweat.

Ahead of the morning training session, Coach IKEDA Futoshi named MATSUDA Shino as the team captain. The newly appointed captain spoke to the team, “We only have four days until our match against Brazil. We must work together and prepare ourselves ahead of the first match as a team.” The team conducted a half-court 9 vs 9 drill to go over the team concept on the pitch.

The team was seen taking a team photo with their jerseys on before the afternoon training session, leaving an impression that the tournament is about to start. During the training session, the players went over their attacking variations to conclude this day’s session.

Players' Comments

DF #3 NAGAE Ibuki (Fujieda Junshin High School)
In our morning training session, we kept our emphasis on managing risks while we are attacking, and the timing to add layers to our attacks. The session in the afternoon was focused on our crosses in offence, while in defence we worked on clearing the ball up and wide. The sessions didn’t last long, but we conducted a very focused and intense sessions. We only have four days until our first match against Brazil, so we must work on each of the things we need to work on and enter the first match with confidence.

FW #13 YAMAMOTO Yuzuki (Nippon TV Menina)
It has been four days since we arrived in Uruguay and we have gotten used to the jet lag and fatigue from the long travel. In our morning training session, we worked on drills involving man-to-man plays under the heat, while in the afternoon we worked on crosses and ways to add layers to our offence by collecting the loose balls. We had fun in both sessions while working on the aspects we needed improvements on. We only have four days until our first match, so we will work on the details with high intensity.

Schedule

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

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Uruguay 2018

Tournament Dates: Tue. 13 November - Sat. 1 December 2018

Tournament Information