JENESYS 2018 Japan-Mekong U-17 Football Exchange Tournament
1st Match vs U-17 Cambodia National Team
Fri. 5 October 2018 Kick-off 14:00 (Japan time) Match duration 90mins (45mins x2)
J-Village Field No.3 (Fukushima)

U-17 Japan National Team 5-0 (1-0, 4-0) U-17 Cambodia National Team

Scores
19' KANO Kanato（U-17 Japan National Team）
62' OHORI Ryonosuke（U-17 Japan National Team）
66' WAKATSUKI Yamato（U-17 Japan National Team）
82' TAKADA Soya（U-17 Japan National Team）
90' HOKAZONO Ryuichi（U-17 Japan National Team）

Starting Line-up
GK: MITSUI Daiki
DF: HASHIMOTO Shuya, NISHIO Ryuya, KANO Kanato, OMORI Rio
MF: OHORI Ryonosuke, HONDA Fuchi, KOBAYASHI Natsuki, MATSUMURA Yuta
FW: WAKATSUKI Yamato, FUJIO Shota

Reserves
GK: UEDA Itsuki
DF: AITSUBO Shuto, TAKAHASHI Yusho, SUMI Seiga
MF: TAKADA Soya, HOKAZONO Ryuichi, AYUKAWA Shun
FW: WADA Aiki

Substitutions
68' FUJIO Shota → WADA Aiki
68' OHORI Ryonosuke → AYUKAWA Shun
68' WAKATSUKI Yamato → TAKADA Soya
77' KANO Kanato → SUMI Seiga
77' KOBAYASHI Natsuki → HOKAZONO Ryuichi
81' OMORI Rio → AITSUBO Shuto
81' HASHIMOTO Shuya → TAKAHASHI Yusho

Match Report

The U-17 Japan National Team played their first match against the U-17 Cambodia National Team in the JENESYS 2018 Japan-Mekong U-17 Football Exchange Tournament. The Cambodian side is led by Coach MIZUSHIMA Musashi, who has been dispatched by the Japan Football Association (JFA) to Cambodia as part of their international cooperation programme in Asia.

It was Japan who took the initiative of the match from the early minutes, showing dominance in ball possession. In the 19th minute, KANO Kanato (JFA Academy Fukushima U18) scored a header off a corner kick delivered by the team captain OHORI Ryonosuke (Sanfrecce Hiroshima Youth), to give his side the lead. However, following this goal, Japan struggled to find their ways to score goals as they made errors in their combinations and lacked quality in the final third. Especially with nine of the Cambodian players dropping back to play defence, the score remained at 1-0 as the match entered halftime.

During halftime, the players were given instructions on how to make adjustments and managed the game in the second half.

In the 62nd minute, Ohori carried the ball in the central area before sending the ball towards HASHIMOTO Shuya (Ichiritsu Funabashi High School) in the left flank. The cross delivered by Hashimoto connected with Ohori, who struck a header to extend the lead to 2-0. Japan’s third goal came in the 66th minute, when HONDA Fuchi (Sagan Tosu U-18) penetrated the box before firing a shot. The shot was once blocked by the opposing goalkeeper, but WAKATSUKI Yamato (Kiryu Daiichi High School) was there to convert the deflection. TAKADA Soya (Omiya Ardija Youth), who was brought in as a substitute showcased a brilliant individual effort in the 82nd minute, where he dribbled passed three defenders before capturing the goal with his shot to make it 4-0. In the 90th minute, MATSUMURA Yuta (Shizuoka Gakuen High School) penetrated the right flank before sending a cross towards the goal where HOKAZONO Ryuichi (JFA Academy Fukushima U18) was able to score with his left foot. Japan managed to score four goals in the second half to finish the match with a final score of 5-0.

Players' Comments

GK #1 MITSUI Daiki (Nagoya Grampus U-18)
With this match against Cambodia being our first match of the tournament, we struggled to find ways to score goals and couldn’t pick up our momentum in the first half. However, the defensive players, including myself, managed to keep our composure and help the team find their rhythm in the second half. As a result, we scored a total of five goals. We will try to maintain this momentum and win all of the remaining three matches.

DF #5 NISHIO Ryuya (Cerezo Osaka U-18)
We managed to enter the match very well and we were able to dominate in ball possession. As a result, we were able to score many goals and I think we did well overall in this match. I personally was able to show some good interceptions and long-feeds, so I am happy with my performance. Most importantly we managed to keep a clean sheet, so that’s something we should be proud of. However, there were still many easy mistakes, so we must polish our plays and strive to do better in the remaining matches.

FW #9 WAKATSUKI Yamato (Kiryu Daiichi High School)
With the opponents playing deep in their territory, I wasn’t given much space to work on. Especially in the first half, I couldn’t receive the ball to my feet or penetrate the space behind the opposing defenders. However, I managed to make the adjustments in the second half as I made decisive moves while our team was moving the ball around. As a result, I was able to get myself involved in our goals and score a goal from a loose ball as well. We hope to feed off of this match and win the remaining three matches to take down the title.

Schedule

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

JENESYS 2018 Japan-Mekong U-17 Football Exchange Tournament

Tournament Dates: Fri. 5 - Mon. 8 October
Tournament Information