※Added a photo.
 

Today is the 5th day of the U-18 Germany expedition. The players seem to be gradually accumulating fatigue. In the morning, they took a light walk around the hotel and did some stretching to rest their bodies and prepare for the Bochum match.
The venue for today's match is the Bochum Academy training ground, about 2 hours by bus from the hotel. It is the third match of the German tour, and the U-19 team will face Bochum in the evening under a cold drizzle that started in the afternoon.
The kick-off time is 6:30 PM local time.

In the first 3 minutes, we caused a decisive pinch from our own mistake, but GK Yamaguchi Yasuhei and DF Watanabe Takuya's persistent defense prevented the goal from being broken.
Afterwards, they grasped the rhythm with a positive and aggressive play that is typical of Tokyo. Starting FW Nadaisuke created multiple scoring opportunities with dynamic movements, but was unable to score due to the opponent GK's defense.
In the 19th minute, the ball was taken in the middle and a cross ball from the right side was scored by the opposing FW with a powerful header.
Sato coach's criticism flies for the momentary gap that was taken advantage of in the German expedition.
Tokyo will continue to move forward aggressively without losing momentum.
At the 26th minute, their attitude paid off as they stole the ball in the midfield and connected with a perfect pass to Ryo SATO, who had made a run behind the DF line from Shuto ABE.
Sato skillfully dodged the opposing GK and calmly scored a goal from a difficult position, equalizing the score.
In addition, in the 29th minute, Kenta OKUMA successfully scored a header from a corner kick and turned the game around! They head into halftime with a 2-1 lead.

In the second half, both teams continue to exchange several players and the attack and defense continue to go back and forth.
72 minutes, a quick restart from the midfield leads to a goal being conceded near the goal. The game is now tied.
After that, the defense in the midfield became loose and we were pushed back. While enduring and responding, we fought together until the end aiming for victory, but it ended in a 2-2 draw.

Despite surpassing the opponent in the number of scoring opportunities, the result was a draw. Throughout this expedition, I have been keenly aware of the German team's high scoring ability, their cunningness in not missing any of the opponent's weaknesses, and their strength in winning the ball in crucial moments. We were also able to gain another valuable experience. Tomorrow, we want to continue to actively challenge ourselves.

FW Daisuke MINAMI's comment
"I couldn't contribute to the team by missing many scoring opportunities. I want to focus on the final quality and make quick decisions."
DF Takahiro YANAGI's comment
"The reason we couldn't beat the German team is because we are still weak. We want to become a team that can win solidly."