We held a meeting immediately upon arrival at the same match venue as yesterday. We confirmed what we needed to do, including reviewing the opponent, and then proceeded with the match.
[MUNDIALITO Preliminary Round 2 vs Volta Redonda FC (Brazil)]
Kick-off at 9:00. Initially, both teams started quietly, observing each other, but gradually the battle for the ball in midfield intensified.
The opponent moved the ball slowly from the back, occasionally distributing long balls to the front. We, on the other hand, firmly repelled those balls with our defenders and tried to build attacks by controlling the ball in midfield.
However, due to frequent ball losses, we couldn't establish an attacking rhythm, and long-range shots failed to hit the target. Although there were no dangerous situations, the match progressed with an unpleasant atmosphere.
In the 28th minute, just before the end of the first half, Tobita received a through pass from Itami, broke behind the opponent's defensive line, and created a decisive opportunity, but was blocked by the goalkeeper. However, from the ensuing throw-in, Yajima passed to Kiuchi. Kiuchi dribbled and fired a middle shot into the left side, scoring the long-awaited opening goal.
At halftime, we thoroughly re-evaluated our strategy and went into the second half.
In the second half, against an opponent who continued to kick long balls to the front, we tried to pick up loose balls and attack from the opponent's less protected side.
In the 11th minute, we moved the ball from the center to the right side, and Tsuchiya distributed a floating ball back to the center. Tobita, who had run in, scored an additional goal with a shot over the opponent's goalkeeper's head.
In the 13th minute, we stole the opponent's throw-in, launched a quick attack, and Serizawa, who overlapped from behind, earned a penalty kick inside the penalty area. He calmly converted the penalty himself, making it 3-0.
After that, although we faced rough play from the opponent, who was mentally cornered, everyone played without injury and we won.
〈Match Result〉
3-0 (1-0/2-0)
〔Starting Members〕
GK Fujii FP Yajima, Oshima, Kosaka, Serizawa, Kato, Ogasawara, Kiuchi, Tsuchiya, Tobita, Itami
〔Substitute Members〕
FP Niibori, Tsukuda, Ouchi, Sato, Ebata
〔Goal Scorers〕
Kiuchi (Yajima), Tobita (Tsuchiya), Serizawa
Coach Hashino's Comment
"It was a game where we couldn't give an inch, as they were a strong team, characteristic of Brazilian teams. Scoring just before the end of the first half allowed us to control the game calmly. We have another game in the afternoon, so we want to prepare thoroughly."
After the match, we returned to the hotel for lunch. After a short break, we held a meeting in the players' rooms.
Coach Hashino spoke about the third match, confirming the team's concepts in both attack and defense.
The match venue was a different ground from the previous two matches. It was a standard size of 105m x 68m, and the artificial turf was in good condition, providing an easy environment to play in.
The warm-up before the match was in the dirt area behind the goal.
Before the match, we confirmed that the area would be slightly larger than before, and then went into battle.
[MUNDIALITO Preliminary Round 3 vs Sant Pau Apostol (Spain, Tarragona)]
Kick-off at 16:15 for the third round against a local club team. In the early minutes, in the 1st minute, Itami broke through on the left flank, calmly evading opponents, and crossed. Tsukuda, making his first start in this tournament, connected to score the opening goal.
In the 3rd minute, Tsukuda made a breakthrough on the right flank and sent in a cross. The ball deflected off an opponent, and Ogasawara volleyed it over the goalkeeper's head to make it 2-0.
In the 7th minute, Kiuchi picked up a loose ball near the opponent's penalty area and dribbled and shot, scoring the third goal.
In this tournament, unlimited substitutions are allowed, and players who have been substituted can re-enter the game. All 16 players were on the pitch in the first half, and everyone rotated through different positions throughout the match.
In the 13th minute, Sato broke behind the opponent's defensive line and calmly scored. In the 14th minute, Serizawa broke through on the left flank and passed to the center. Yajima connected to score the fifth goal.
We ended the first half with a 5-0 lead.
In the second half, we dominated possession and created many chances, but struggled to score. Gradually, support from players without the ball was delayed, and decisions by players with the ball also became slow, leading to a period where we couldn't find our rhythm.
However, in the 23rd minute, Tobita received the ball flowing from the center to the right side and passed it to Ouchi in front of the goal. Ouchi slotted it into the net, breaking the bad spell. Immediately after, in the 25th minute, Kiuchi scored a beautiful middle shot for the seventh goal.
We won 7-0 and secured our place in the knockout stage, with one preliminary match remaining tomorrow.
〈Match Result〉
7-0 (5-0/2-0)
〔Starting Members〕
GK Fujii FP Yajima, Oshima, Kosaka, Serizawa, Kato, Ogasawara, Kiuchi, Tsukuda, Tobita, Itami
〔Substitute Members〕
FP Ebata, Sato, Ouchi, Niibori, Tsuchiya
〔Goal Scorers〕
Tsukuda (Itami), Ogasawara, Kiuchi 2, Sato, Yajima (Serizawa), Ouchi (Tobita)
Coach Hashino's Comment
"Since this was our second match of the day, I was most concerned about the players' condition. We focused on what we needed to do rather than on the opponent. We secured qualification for the next round, but the matches continue. We want to be diligent in our preparation."
After returning to the hotel, we had dinner and a brief meeting, concluding today's activities.
Tomorrow, we will face the strong Spanish team, Valencia.