On the way to practice, we passed by the facilities of "Shandong Luneng Taishan Football School," where this tournament is being held.
The school houses students (players) aged 8 to 19 who live together in dormitories, striving to balance their studies with football every day. There are approximately 400 to 500 students. The school is equipped with facilities for sports other than football, and about 35 football pitches.
On the walls of the accommodation facility, there are paintings of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The cleaning was thorough, and there was hardly any trash.
For training, we incorporated a relaxed menu in preparation for tomorrow's match. This included a juggling relay, short dash competition games, ball passing with everyone, and finally, a small game with the staff joining in to conclude the practice.
After practice, we took commemorative photos with the tournament volunteers and with a boy who helped collect balls during practice.
In the afternoon, there was a joint press conference with all participating teams, where we confirmed regulations and discussed uniform details.
At the reception after dinner, Kohari entered carrying a placard, and Watanabe performed. With a singer and folk dances, the atmosphere was entirely welcoming.
And then came the main event: each team presented their planned team performance. The Kashima Antlers team performed together to the song "USA" and received the loudest applause.
The tournament finally begins tomorrow. Our first opponent is Santos from Brazil, with kickoff at 9 AM.