The first match of the preliminary league Group B was against the prestigious Santos, a club that Pele, Neymar, and Kazuyoshi Miura have all played for. With a 9 AM kickoff, the team woke up at 5 AM to begin preparations for the match.
9:00 AM Kickoff
vs Santos FC (Brazil)
First half 0-2
Second half 0-0
Total 0-2
GK: Aoi Terakado FP: Sora Okita, Konoha Ikizawa, Soshi Kofuda, Kenta Nemoto, Tatsuya Kiuchi, Yu Funahashi, Tomoya Nakagawa, Kaiyo Yanagimachi, Eikazu Takema, Noto Watanabe
Substitutes: Shoichi Kurimata, Ayumu Funasaki, Shotaro Taniguchi
Santos took control of the pace from the start. In the 7th minute of the first half, they pressed from the front, forcing a defensive error, winning the ball, and scoring the opening goal.
Furthermore, in the 17th minute of the first half, they picked up a loose ball from a set piece and conceded another goal.
We had a decisive chance in the first half. Takema dispossessed an opponent and went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but his shot went wide. Also, Watanabe's shot hit the post, and we couldn't score.
In the second half, when the opponent's energy dropped, we increased our ball possession and played to our advantage, but due to fatigue, we lacked accuracy in our shots and passes, and ended up without scoring.
Overall, there were many periods when the opponent controlled the game, but we were able to create our own style in terms of putting our bodies on the line in defense and moving the ball. Chances arose after dangerous situations, so if we had converted our clear-cut opportunities, the outcome of the match might have been different.
From 3 PM, players who did not participate in the match trained on a covered artificial turf pitch.
Tomorrow, the second match of the preliminary league will be held with a 9 AM kickoff. The opponent will be OGC Nice from France.