Academy Report

After waking up, everyone weighed themselves before breakfast. It is very hot and humid during the day in Xi'an, China, but the mornings and evenings are very pleasant.

Breakfast is buffet style with a wide variety of dishes.As it was the first day of the tournament, an opening ceremony was held. Third from the right is Coach Kikka, a former youth coach (Shaanxi Province Football Association U-12), next to him is Coach Hashimoto (Shaanxi Province Football Association U-13), and next to him is Coach Kogure, who is the head coach for this expedition.


There were also interviews with Coach Kogure and Captain Ishimori.After watching the first half of the opening match between Shonan and Wuhan, we returned to the hotel to rest. We had lunch and a meeting, then left the hotel.


< Participating Teams in this Tournament >
1. Kashima Antlers U-12 School Select Team
2. Shonan Bellmare U-12 School Select Team
3. Wuhan Shangwen Football Club U-12
4. Hebei China Fortune U-12
5. Shaanxi Province Football Association U-12 (Coach Kikka, former Antlers youth coach, is the head coach.)
6. Shaanxi Province Football Association U-13 (Staff dispatched through business alliance: Mr. Hashimoto is the head coach.)

Tournament with a round-robin format among the 6 teams above.
Match time: 70 minutes (35 minutes x 2, 15-minute half-time)
11-a-side match, official size 5 ball
Substituted players can be substituted back in and play again.

< Antlers School Select Match Schedule >
August 25th (Sat) 16:35 Kick-off vs Shaanxi Province Football Association U-13
August 26th (Sun) 15:00 Kick-off vs Shonan Bellmare U-12 School Select
August 27th (Mon) 9:30 Kick-off vs Wuhan Shangwen Football Club U-12
August 29th (Wed) 15:00 Kick-off vs Shaanxi Province Football Association U-12
August 30th (Thu) 16:35 Kick-off vs Hebei China Fortune U-12

The opponent on the first day of the tournament is the Shaanxi Province Football Association U-13 team.

Coach Kogure discussed tactics for the match.

The field is natural grass and all matches of this tournament will be held on the same field. Although this field is also used by the Chinese national team, the pitch condition was reportedly not good this year due to disease.In fact, on the pitch, there were quite a few uneven areas and some bald spots.

Antlers School Select vs Shaanxi Province Football Association U-13
First half 2-2
Second half 0-2
Total 2-4
Goal scorers: Fujimura, Uno<Starting Lineup>
GK: Teruzora Fujigasaki, FP: Taira Honchi, Junpei Uno, Yuto Harigae, Haruki Yagyu (8th minute of second half: Shunsuke Momoi), Soma Kawai, Takeshi Ishimori, Manato Saito (30th minute of second half: Reon Komori), Kenshin Fujimura (33rd minute of second half: Shinsuke Imaumi), Reon Komori (Halftime: Sera Teranuma), Hiroki Arai

When I saw the opposing players at the opening ceremony, I got the impression that there were many large players, some of whom were two years older in terms of the Japanese school system. They were a team that deployed physically gifted players at the back and front, relying on long balls to create breakaways for their fast players.

The school selection team fought tenaciously for possession in defense. However, in the 14th minute of the first half, they conceded the first goal from a right corner kick after losing their marking. Furthermore, in the 26th minute of the first half, they conceded a second goal from a rebound off a corner kick, putting them two goals down.The school select team also scored goals from limited chances. In the 28th minute of the first half, Saito broke through on the left side with a dribble and delivered a cross, which Fujimura converted with his left foot to get one goal back.

Furthermore, in the 29th minute of the first half, Uno powerfully struck a direct free kick from about 40m in the center, scoring the equalizer.

The school select team continued to fight tenaciously in the second half, but conceded two goals from counter-attacks. Early in the second half, they had chances to score but lacked accuracy in their shots and couldn't find the net. They were beaten by the difference in speed on simple long balls played behind the defense.The players fought hard in the humid conditions overseas but lost the match. Although it was very disappointing, they showed their fighting spirit until the end.

We returned to the hotel, had dinner, and then had a meeting before going to bed.