Academy Report

It was another beautiful sunny morning, but there was still a chill around 7 AM.

After our morning walk, it was time for breakfast.Today's knockout stage matches were held at a different venue than yesterday. It was about a 10-minute drive from the hotel and had an artificial turf field. Since it was relatively new, the turf was still standing tall.

We held a meeting at the match venue.During the meeting, we used a tactics board to confirm our system and movements. We focused intensely for about 30 minutes.When we started warming up, there were hardly any spectators, but they gradually increased over time. The team we played against yesterday also came to watch.Today's starting lineup:
GK: Ishibashi
DF: Miyamoto, Otsuka, Oyama, Koseki
MF: Hirayama, Ota, Ito, Nagayama, Notoya
FW: Manome

Our system was a 4-2-3-1, with the forward playing as a lone striker, and we focused on marking the defensive midfielders tightly.

SUB: Gorai (substituted in 15 minutes into the second half), Sekine, Amasaka (substituted in 20 minutes into the second half), Masaki, Shiratsuchi

We conceded two goals early in the first half, in the 3rd and 8th minutes. These goals came before we could properly assess the opponent's situation. They exploited our quick players, allowing them to break through, and then calmly scored when the goalkeeper came out. One goal was from a long pass over our defense when we pressed high, and the other was due to a delayed cover after a dribble breakthrough from the wing.

From that point, we took some risks and applied more aggressive pressure to win the ball back. Eventually, we won the ball with that press, and after a brilliant passing play from the left wing, Manome calmly scored to narrow the deficit to one goal, ending the first half.

The opponent showed more noticeable signs of fatigue from the heat and consecutive matches, so the halftime instruction was to be even more aggressive and confident in our attacks in the second half.We made sure they rested and cooled down their heads during the short 5-minute break.

From the start of the second half, we continued to apply aggressive pressure from the front. Ito won the ball and was fouled inside the penalty area, earning a penalty kick. Manome converted this penalty to equalize.

We created chances to take the lead, but our shots lacked accuracy, and we couldn't go ahead. Instead, we conceded a goal from a cross from the left wing, and in the end, with the opponent wasting time near the corner flag, we couldn't catch up and were eliminated.We had a chance to win, played aggressively, and were able to create situations where we won the ball through high pressure. However, we still had too many moments where individual players were beaten, allowing breakthroughs.

After lunch, we went to a nearby beach to relax and refresh.There was a beautiful coastline stretching out. I think the players found it a nice change of pace, with some swimming in the sea and others enjoying playing soccer.In Italy in June, it stays bright until around 8 PM.

After dinner, we had a brief meeting and then went to bed.