The Kashima Youth team, currently on tour in Spain, departed Barcelona this morning and traveled to Zaragoza by bus. Surprisingly, the bus was the Espanyol first team bus.
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We had lunch at a restaurant in a roadside service area.
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After approximately 3.5 hours, we arrived in Zaragoza. We visited Pilar Square and the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in the city center.
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From 5:30 PM, we played a friendly match against the Zaragoza U18 team at their facility.
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Friendly match vs Zaragoza U18 0-4
Starting players:
Yuki Kido; Ryo Shirai; Koyo Matsuura; Terukazu Shinozaki; Kotaro Arakawa; Ryosuke Imura; Takumi Nishimoto; Daisuke Otsuka; Mizaki Kawashima; Shinya Detsu; Ren Kanazawa
Substitutes:
Hayato Ishizu; Yuya Oki; Ryuki Fujieda; Renato Watanabe; Mizuki Yamamoto
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We held a meeting to review our performance in the four matches in Spain, identify areas for improvement, and unite the team's direction. Although the lineup was changed for each match, and perhaps due to the strong winds, our start to the game was poor once again. We conceded easily from an opponent's cross in the 6th minute, and in the 14th minute, a goalkeeper error led to another goal, making it 0-2. Conversely, in the 17th minute, Matsuura connected with a free-kick from Detsu, but it didn't reach the goal. In the 41st minute, Otsuka's shot hit the post, and we failed to score. Four minutes into the second half, a miscommunication on the right side allowed the opponent to break through and score from a cross, making it 0-3. After that, we spent more time attacking, and in the 27th minute, Otsuka shot from Matsuura's cross but failed to score. In the 33rd minute, Imura headed from a free-kick from Detsu, but that too didn't go in. Despite chances from Fujieda's dribbling and Detsu's dribble shot, the goal remained elusive. We had the upper hand in the second half, but in the 39th minute, a horizontal pass in our defensive line was intercepted by the opponent, who scored on a counter-attack, ending the match 0-4.
Coach Kumagai's comment:
"This match showed both areas where we haven't improved on our課題 (challenges) and areas where we have made corrections and improved. The challenges are clear. The areas that have been corrected are increasing. We are moving in a good direction with each match. We want to improve while increasing the speed of our progress."