＜Day 5 of France Expedition＞
On April 7th (Friday), we visited the streets of Sanse in the morning.
With the guidance of the guide, I was able to have a valuable experience touching on local religion and culture, such as historical buildings built hundreds of years ago and churches.

And in the afternoon, the main tournament will begin.
The first match of the qualifiers was against Toulouse FC, a team belonging to the French Ligue 1, for the top team. Local people and teams from other countries also came to watch the game, and the opening match was held in a wonderful atmosphere.

The start of the first half was difficult due to the opponent's high physical ability and compact, strong defense, which made it difficult to play as desired.
However, as the game progressed, there were more scenes of winning one-on-one situations and threatening the goal on the counter, but we were unable to score and the first half ended 0-0.
In the second half, there were more scenes of entering the area in front of the goal than in the first half. Despite creating chances such as receiving fouls and shooting from free kicks, the game progresses without being able to score. In the midst of that, in the 8th minute of the second half, we were unable to take advantage of a chance in front of the opponent's goal and conceded a goal from a counterattack after being broken through on the side and crossed in the middle.
The game ended 0-1.
The first match of the qualifiers ended in a loss.
After the game, tears of frustration could be seen in the players' eyes. By competing against teams from around the world, we will use what we have learned to aim for the top league in the second and third matches of the tournament.

＜Day 6 of France Expedition＞
On April 8th (Sat), we faced the second and third matches of the group stage.

The second game was against OGC Nice from France at 9:00 local time.
13 minutes into the first half, we allow the opponent to take the lead with a bicycle kick after deflecting their cross.
I was shown the high ability of overseas players.
Riku NAKASHIMA equalized from a free kick on the right side of the opponent's field 10 minutes into the second half.
After that, we continued to exchange attacks and defenses, but in additional time, we were cut off by a pass in our own territory and ended up conceding a goal. We ended up losing the second game 1-2.

Despite already having 2 losses, we faced the third game against Stade Brestois 29 at 13:20 local time, taking into account the possibility of still being able to advance to the top league even with a third place finish due to the wildcard rule.

In order to advance to the top league, winning is an absolute requirement, so we ended up being too stiff and unable to play the game as we wanted in the first half.
9 minutes into the first half, we conceded a goal due to a mistake in building up from a low position in our own half. We will go into halftime trailing 0-1 in this match as well.
In the 5th minute of the second half, we allowed an additional point due to a mistake in coordination against the opponent's long ball, and were caught behind.
However, this expedition has been able to revive the team's atmosphere by continuing to encourage players such as Louis ONONUJU, Maki KITAHARA, and Shuntaro SANO, who were unable to play due to injuries.
In the 7th minute of the second half, Shuto JO took advantage of a rebound from his teammate's shot and launched a counterattack. Then, in the 14th minute, he broke through the left side from a side change and scored again, tying the game 2-2.
After that, we repeatedly approached the goal, but we couldn't score and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
Unfortunately, despite finishing in 3rd place with 1 win and 2 losses in the qualifying group, we were unable to advance to the top league due to comparison with the 3rd place team in the other group.

And then, it was revealed that there will be the first game of the ranking decision league at 18:50 on the day. Without any time to rest, we will prepare for the third game in a hurry.

The first match of the ranking decision league was against AJ Osele. We approached the match with a focus on players who have been frequently substituted so far.
Until now, in the midst of a series of games lost by a one-point difference, the players' natural desire to win has been reflected in both their play and the atmosphere. The passion, determination, and unity shown by the players on this trip was the greatest of all.
In the second half additional time, Shuto JO, who had broken through behind the opponent, was fouled and earned a free kick in front of the goal. Hisato MATSUMOTO took the free kick and although his shot was initially saved by the opponent's GK, Shuto JO was able to follow up and score. With that dramatic turn of events, we were able to secure a victory just before the end of the game.
Only two days left until the remaining matches in the France expedition.
I will do my best to express what I felt while watching the game against overseas teams over the next two days.