- Day 3 -
Walk around the vicinity of the dormitory from 6:30 AM. After that, we had breakfast and took a bus for an hour to Amstelveen, where we held three 30-minute training matches against Wooter Akademy U-15 starting at 10:15.
【1st Half】
Struggled against the opponent's fast press and couldn't create any opportunities. Conceded a goal in the 10th minute due to a mistake. Conceded another goal in the 15th minute after being broken down on the side. Gave up two consecutive goals and ended the first half at 0-2.
[Second Half]
We have become accustomed to the opponent's pace of play, and gradually the time spent in Tokyo's pace has increased. Additionally, our pressing has become effective, leading to more opportunities to steal the ball from the opponent and approach the goal. In the 22nd minute, a cross from Souma UEDA was not fully caught by the opposing goalkeeper, and Takumi MATSUNO reacted to the loose ball and scored a goal. In the 28th minute, UEDA regained the ball from a quick press and scored a powerful long-range shot. The score was tied at 2-2, ending the second half.
[3rd Goal]
Although chances were created, the time continued without additional points. In the midst of this, a momentary lapse led to a goal conceded in the 27th minute. Another goal was conceded in the 30th minute due to a breakdown on the side. The total score became 2-4, and the time was up.
As we were up against an opponent one grade higher, there were many moments where we were overwhelmed in terms of physicality and speed, but we were able to create periods where we controlled the pace with our own style of football.
The matches will continue from tomorrow onwards, so we will work hard to connect this to our growth.
In the afternoon, a sightseeing tour of downtown Rotterdam will be conducted.
After that, I watched the match between Feyenoord and Zwolle, which kicked off at 20:00. The match saw a goal from player Kiyo Ueda, and Feyenoord won 5-0.
I hope to see the growth of players who were inspired by witnessing the success of Japanese players playing abroad starting from tomorrow.
