Academy Report

The seventh morning of our expedition to Korea dawned with a sky that looked like it would rain at any moment.

We woke up a little after 8 AM, took a walk, did some exercises, and then had breakfast.In the morning, since we couldn't secure a ground at a good time, we did some light exercises at a nearby park. We used a ball for recreational activities on a single basketball court, loosening up and enjoying the workout.The park was about a 3-minute walk away and overlooked the ocean.


We returned to the hotel, took showers, and had lunch at 1:30 PM. After 3 PM, we had a meeting at the hotel and then departed for the match venue.We had watched footage of the opponent's game yesterday, so the players likely understood their characteristics to some extent, even the fine details of their offense and defense. We analyzed how they adapted to our system and their set-piece characteristics, and explained these in the meeting.

At the match venue, Director Yang, the Head of Administrative Affairs for Seogwipo City, which has a sister city agreement with Kashima City, provided local tangerines and water as refreshments.


Today was a very windy day, so much so that the corner flags were leaning. The match was played in conditions where even kicked balls were pushed back.

JEJU INTERNATIONAL YOUTH FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT 2018
Playoff Round 1, 5:00 PM Kick-off (Gangchanghak Stadium A)

First Half 0-2
Second Half 2-2
Total 2-4

Goalscorers: Kakita, Gocho

Starting Lineup
GK: Fuka Takahashi (7th minute of 2nd half - Yusei Kishimoto)・FP: Ryoma Yamaguchi・Rian Ishii・Hinata Fukuhara・Rikuto Hirama (28th minute of 2nd half - Kaito Aiki)・Shun Moriyama・Kota Komura・Ren Gocho・Ryota Ishito (18th minute of 2nd half - Takeshi Ebisawa)・Shogo Kakita・Fumiya Saka (Halftime - Hayato Nakayama)In the first half, we wanted to hold them to a scoreless draw by letting the opponent possess the ball and defending tenaciously, but it was difficult to connect passes downwind. We tried to attack by aiming behind the opponent, but there were many mistakes and we couldn't create any attacking patterns.

In the 17th minute of the first half, a long-range shot from the opponent carried on the wind and was sucked into the goal, giving them the lead. After that, we managed to defend tenaciously, but in additional time, a foul was called inside the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick and another goal conceded.

We finished the first half trailing 0-2, with our hopes pinned on the second half with the wind at our backs.Towards the second half, Coach Nemoto gave detailed instructions.


As per the coach's instructions, we aggressively challenged for the ball from the start of the second half, but in the 5th minute, an opponent's mid-range shot hit the crossbar, and instead of crossing the goal line, it came back with the wind, hit our goalkeeper's foot, and was sucked into the goal.

After that, we launched attacks and created chances from crosses on the wings, but were denied by the crossbar and couldn't score. Instead, we conceded a fourth goal from a counter-attack where they broke through with a dribble.

We continued to push for goals until the end, and in the 29th minute of the second half, Kakita scored from Yamaguchi's cross from the right wing, bringing us back within one goal. Furthermore, in the 30th minute of the second half, Gocho dribbled down the right wing, saw the goalkeeper's movement, and slotted it into the goal for our second goal. We pressed the opponent's goal even in additional time, but the final whistle blew without us scoring another goal.This match was broadcast on television, and Coach Nemoto gave an interview after the game.


We finished in the top 8 of this tournament, but there will be an exhibition match tomorrow.

After the match, we returned to the hotel and held a meeting after dinner.