As usual, after a walk, we had breakfast and then traveled by bus. It was the same ground as yesterday.
Our opponent was "Flamengo", a strong Brazilian club where Zico TD grew up. Flamengo was staying in the same hotel as us throughout the tournament.
The members of this expedition will go on an expedition to Brazil when they are in their third year of junior high school, and there is a possibility that they will play against Flamengo at that time.
This was a preliminary match, and the last match of this expedition. We promised to give it our all as a culmination of everything we've done so far, and we went into the match.
The match, which kicked off at 9:00, saw Flamengo attacking with technical skill. However, Antlers, as always, maintained a compact defense, not giving the opponent space, winning the ball through coordination, and finding gaps to threaten the opponent's goal.
In the 18th minute of the first half, the play moved from the left side to the right. Tsuda evaded an opposing defender and sent a low cross into the center, which Kiuchi met perfectly with his left foot, scoring the opening goal.
The opponent changed their system and attacked, but with tenacious defending, we did not concede a goal and finished the first half 1-0.
In the second half, Flamengo brought in fresh players and attacked with even greater momentum. We desperately defended against Flamengo's sharp wing attacks and, conversely, moved the ball around to try and score an additional goal.
However, in the 12th minute, while attacking, we lost the ball, and they broke through the side from a counterattack, scoring a goal.
In the 21st minute, they broke through the center again and scored, taking the lead.
Everyone fought desperately to equalize, but the match ended. We lost 1-2.
The players must grow so that they can take revenge in two years.
〈Match Result〉
1-2 (1-0 / 0-2)
〔Starting Members〕
GK Fujii FP Ebata, Oshima, Sato, Serizawa, Ogasawara, Ouchi, Kiuchi, Tsuda, Niibori, Itami
〔Substitute Members〕
FP Kato, Tobita, Tsuchiya, Yajima, Kosaka
〔Scorer〕
Kiuchi (Tsuda)
Comment from Coach Hashino
"Although it was a training match, the opponent was Flamengo. Against an opponent where we could experience world standards, we prepared well for the match as usual. We had played six matches by yesterday, so our condition wasn't great, but everyone fought together. We scored in the first half and were able to play advantageously, but it was Flamengo, after all. They had quick attacks, and they exploited a momentary gap in our defense, scoring two goals and turning the game around. Even though they are only first-year junior high school students, their ability to discern crucial moments like adults and convert them into goals was truly impressive. I hope they take the achievements and challenges gained from this expedition back to Japan and utilize them in their daily training."
After the friendly match, we went to watch the final. The final was between "Levante," the team we lost to in the quarterfinals, and the Spanish powerhouse "Betis."
Betis won, scoring one goal in each half, and took the championship.
The players observed with keen interest, trying to understand what was different about them and what their strengths were.
After watching the final, we returned to the hotel for lunch and then moved back to the main venue.
The closing ceremony was held in the cold rain that started falling in the afternoon. Everyone received a commemorative cup for the tournament, and GK Fujii received the Best Goalkeeper Award.
This is the first time a Japanese player has received an individual award.
Tomorrow we finally return home.