We left the hotel and prepared for the match against Cruzeiro, which kicked off at 10 AM at the match venue.
<Today's Match Result: Preliminary League Group B Match 3 vs Cruzeiro, 10:00 AM Kickoff>
First Half: 0-1
Second Half: 1-0
Total: 1-1
Goal Scorer: Kikuchi
Starting Lineup:
GK: Chiba FP: Yamaguchi, Okita, Fukuhara, Kobayashi, Murayama, Ishizu, Taniguchi, Nakayama, Iizuka, Kikuchi
Substitutes:
Ito, Isora, Fuchigami, Chen (Chinese trainee)
In the locker room meeting, we organized what needed to be done today. We specifically reviewed set-piece defense.
With the possibility of advancing to the upper league if we won, the Kashima Youth eleven went into the match aiming for victory. However, we conceded a goal just 8 minutes after kickoff. After a through ball was played into the center, the opponent easily turned, and a player bursting from the second line was unmarked, receiving a through pass. That player scored freely, giving us a goal in the early stages, which was an area of concern for us.
Even after that, we faced several dangerous situations in the first half, but thanks to good saves from our goalkeeper, we didn't concede any more goals.
At halftime, we made substitutions and went on the offensive in the second half.
In the second half, when our stamina started to drop, we created chances by dribbling and creating numerical superiority on the wings to break through and deliver crosses.
Amidst this, an equalizer was scored in the 6th minute of the second half. From the left flank, a vertical run was made, and a cross was sent in just before the touchline. Kikuchi scored with a diving header, equalizing the score.
Even during the opponent's set-piece attacks, we were able to defend physically without losing concentration. While we were able to create situations to calmly connect passes and break down their defense, we couldn't finish in the crucial final moments, and the match ended in a draw.
Kikuchi was selected as Man of the Match.
As a result of the preliminaries, we finished 3rd in Group B and will proceed to the lower tournament.
<All Preliminary League Match Results>
Group A
April 8th
Guangzhou Evergrande Football School (China) 0-1 Hanoi FC (Vietnam)
Spartak Moscow (Russia) 2-4 Banfield (Argentina)
April 9th
Spartak Moscow 8-0 Hanoi FC
Guangzhou Evergrande Football School 1-3 Banfield
April 10th
Guangzhou Evergrande Football School 1-2 Spartak Moscow
Banfield 0-1 Hanoi FC
Group B
April 8th
Kashima Antlers (Japan) 1-1 Hebei China Fortune Football Club U-17 (China)
Atletico Madrid (Spain) 1-1 Cruzeiro (Brazil)
April 9th
Kashima Antlers 2-6 Atletico Madrid
Cruzeiro 1-0 Hebei China Fortune Football Club U-17
April 10th
Kashima Antlers 1-1 Cruzeiro
Atletico Madrid 4-0 Hebei China Fortune Football Club U-17
<Preliminary League Standings>
Group A
1st Spartak Moscow
2nd Banfield
3rd Hanoi FC
4th Guangzhou Evergrande Football School
Group B
1st Atletico Madrid
2nd Cruzeiro
3rd Kashima Antlers
4th Hebei China Fortune Football Club U-17
Players with short playing time had training in the afternoon.
(Kimura GK, Funasaki, Ishii, Fuchigami, Ito, Isora, Nakayama, Chen - 8 players in total)
Tomorrow, the 6th day of the expedition, there will be no matches. The team will hold practice in the afternoon.