We had breakfast at 7:30 AM, took a stroll around the facility at 11 AM, and then had an early lunch.
A meeting was held at 12:45 PM in preparation for the match.
We arrived at the venue one hour before the match to prepare for warm-ups. The weather was cloudy, but it was still hot and humid.
We started with Brazil calisthenics during warm-up with high spirits.
As this was a match against the China national team, there were many spectators.
[Day 3 of the Tournament: Quarter-finals of the Final Tournament vs China National Team U-14, 2:30 PM Kick-off]
First Half: 0-0
Second Half: 0-1
Total: 0-1
Starting Lineup:
GK: Shigaki
FP: Oyama, Kawano, Gorai, Shinbo, Ogura, Otsuka, Shiraishi, Yasutsuka, Nagayama, Ito
Substitutions:
Kinoshita
Out of 25 registered players for the China national team, 18 were early-born players (one grade older in the Japanese school system).
Despite many of their players being large, we pressed in coordination from the front to win the ball and prevent the opponent from playing freely.
As we tenaciously stuck to the opponent, their mistakes increased.
In the 15th minute of the first half, Shinbo broke through the center, winning the ball in a one-on-one with an opponent after a dribble, and passed the ball to the unmarked Ito, who then faced a one-on-one with the goalkeeper but was denied.
After that, we repeatedly exploited the spaces between and behind their three defenders, creating several one-on-one situations with the goalkeeper, but failed to score, and the first half ended.
During halftime, Coach Morishima spoke to the team.
Even in the second half, each player worked hard to win, preventing the opponent from creating their desired attacking patterns.
In attack, we aimed behind the defense and penetrated with dribbles from wing changes, creating numerous scoring opportunities, but were consistently blocked by the goalkeeper.
In the 21st minute of the second half, Ogura's shot, having broken free, was saved by the goalkeeper. This led to an opponent counter-attack, but we quickly returned to defense and managed to concede only a corner kick.
From the China national team's first corner kick of the match, we failed to mark properly and conceded a goal from a header.
We committed many players to attack in retaliation, but the opponent solidified their defense in front of the goal, preventing us from creating decisive opportunities.
Despite maintaining the initiative in both offense and defense, we unfortunately lost the match.
Although we were eliminated in the quarter-finals, the matches will continue for 5th to 8th place.
Final Tournament Quarter-final Results:
Kashima Antlers 0-1 China National Team U-14
Pyongyang International (North Korea) 5-0 Musan Middle School (South Korea)
ZHONGNAN CODION FC (China) 2-2 (PK 10-9) Granada (Spain)
Cruzeiro (Brazil) 4-1 Frankfurt (Germany)
After dinner, we held a meeting to review the match before going to bed.
Our opponent tomorrow will be Musan Middle School from South Korea.