It's the third day of our Korean expedition, and the children have grown accustomed to the foreign environment. Day three includes a friendly match and a visit to Jeonbuk Hyundai's stadium.
The mornings in Korea are cold, but not much different from Japan. While some players were late yesterday, today they gathered even earlier than scheduled. Our usual morning walk and exercises followed.
After breakfast, we left the hotel, toured Jeonbuk Hyundai's stadium, shopped at the official store, and then headed to the match venue. At the stadium, we greeted President Lee and Vice President Kim, who once again extended a warm welcome. The children enjoyed their first stadium visit, experiencing the atmosphere before an ACL match.
We took commemorative photos in the warm-up area before the match and on the pitch.
They bought souvenirs at the official shop.
Yesterday was a tough schedule with two matches in the morning and two in the afternoon. Today, we faced the same opponent, but with a mixed team including players from the age group above. The match venue and pitch were the same artificial turf as yesterday. The 11:00 AM kick-off against Choi Kang-hee FC U-12 was suddenly changed to 11-a-side, with two 25-minute halves.
The starting lineup was GK Shigaki, DF Oshima, Jinno, Nuka, Sekine, MF Yoshida, Ogura, Ito, Oe, Mukaihara, and FW Ouchi.
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At this age group, 11-a-side is rarely played, with 8-a-side being the mainstream in Japan. Conversely, in Korea, only 11-a-side is played. Our coordination didn't function well initially, leading to many mistakes and conceding an early goal. However, we gradually showed more strength in tackles and our pressing from the front became effective, creating chances from quick plays. But our shooting accuracy was poor, and we only scored one goal.
In the second half, the lineup was GK Kurihara, DF Yamada, Jinno, Nuka, Shinbo, MF Yoshida, Ogura, Ota, Takahashi, Mukaihara, and FW Masago. Similar to the first half, it took time to get used to the system, and we easily conceded another goal. Although it became an even tougher match, our hungry attitude towards goal and never-give-up fighting spirit until the end will serve us well in the future.
Match result
vs Choi Kang-hee FC U-12 1-3
Scorer: Mukaihara
After the match, we had dinner at a nearby Korean restaurant. We ate Korean-style hamburg steak, cold noodles, and Korean-style udon.
The final match of the Korean expedition was against Jeonbuk Hyundai Juniors, a match against their 5th and 6th graders and their best junior team, played in three 20-minute periods.
The opponent for the first period was the 5th-grade team. The starting lineup was GK Shigaki, DF Oshima, Jinno, Nuka, Sekine, MF Ogura, Yoshida, Mukaihara, Oe, Ito, and FW Masago. Mukaihara scored in the 10th minute, giving us the lead. Although we showed good pressure on the ball carrier, fierce tackles, and a fighting spirit, we gave away too many unnecessary fouls near our goal. Ambiguous positioning in the defensive line remained an issue.
The opponent for the second period was the 6th-grade team. The starting lineup was GK Kurihara, DF Yamada, Jinno, Sekine, Shinbo, MF Ogura, Yoshida, Mukaihara, Takahashi, Ota, and FW Ouchi. In the 10th minute, a loose ball from a shot was put in, and we were equalized. Perhaps due to fatigue, we started losing battles for loose balls and allowed simple vertical breakthroughs. We also found it harder to connect passes.
The opponent for the third period was the best team of 5th and 6th graders. Our starting lineup was GK Shigaki, DF Oshima, Jinno, Sekine, Shinbo, MF Ogura, Oe, Ito, Takahashi, Mukaihara, and FW Ouchi. With the physical difference in speed and power, and fatigue from consecutive matches, our legs stopped moving. They exploited the space behind our defense, leading to more conceded goals.
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Match result
vs Jeonbuk Hyundai Junior 1-4
Scorer: Mukaihara
All six friendly matches are now complete, with a record of 3 wins and 3 losses.
