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Summary of the press conference with FC Tokyo U-23 coach Tetsu NAGASAWA

"I believe that the fans and supporters who came today watched the J3 match and are now cheering for the J1 match. I am truly grateful for your presence at Nishi-ga-oka on such a schedule. The supporters from Gunma are also very enthusiastic, and their support has been powerful. I appreciate the opportunity for the players to perform on such a great stage."

To put it bluntly, the match was characterized by losing out in the duels for the ball, leading to a goal conceded within 5 seconds. That's what it comes down to. The J1 League is a league of quality. In the J2 and J3 leagues, battles for even balls and duels become crucial. I believe that possessing those qualities can take you to a higher level.

Today, I think the Gunma players were picking up 60-70% of the second balls and the balls in the situation. In that regard, it's not about physicality but rather about starting positions and preemptive predictions and reactions. The opponent's attacks seemed to start from winning headers, as represented by the third goal, rather than being built up cleanly from the back and connecting. It felt like it began with battles for loose balls.

We have players who are 16 years old and a young defensive line, but it was a valuable match in terms of firmly confirming our 'standards.' We approached the match with the theme of 'winning by scoring more than 2 goals.' We managed to score 2 goals, but I believe we conceded 4 goals because we were losing the battles on the ball side.

The reason South American players can excel around the world is that their strength in one-on-one situations is overwhelmingly strong, which serves as a foundation for their quality. I believe this game allowed us to confirm where we need to set our 'standards' and how we should approach it.

It is important to think about how to make use of today's results. Regardless of age, we must overcome challenges. I want to focus on both quality and other aspects as a whole and work on them diligently.