On the 9th day, just before the final match of this expedition, we had a practice match against PUMAS from Mexico in the morning and attended a players' meeting in the afternoon.
 

The match against PUMAS (half court / 8:8 / 15 minutes x 2 halves) saw us leading at halftime with goals from Hara and Arakawa, and in the second half, we secured a 6-1 victory with hat tricks from Sugiyama and Imamura. We achieved a significant win against our opponent in the first match of the group stage. (In the group stage, we won after a 2-2 penalty shootout)

Victory in the training match against PUMAS with a score of 6-1!	Group photo with PUMAS, who are also staying at the same accommodation

After lunch, the participating teams attended a players' meeting together in the afternoon. Participants from the U-12 tournament also gathered, making it an event with over 500 people in total.

Table soccer, video games, table tennis, and lifting spaces were set up to interact with players from around the world.

At the Players' Meeting	Table soccer with other teams

I want to cherish the friends connected through soccer

As part of various events, a talk event was held featuring Raúl González, former player of Real Madrid.
 

In a style of answering questions from participating players, he sent a message saying, "While having an environment to play soccer is now taken for granted, simply playing soccer within the given environment won't lead to further growth, and above all, it's not fun. You need to think for yourself and be aware while playing soccer; otherwise, you won't surpass your coach. Just like robots and the machines of today."

The words of Mr. Raul were conveyed by interpreter Okuda

The players from Tokyo left the venue excitedly.
 

I want to maximize my current abilities and conclude the tournament in a way that can contribute to the Premier League and T1 League in Japan for tomorrow's last match in America.

The 5th place playoff will be held on the 26th at 12:00 against SPORTING KANSAS CITY. (Kick-off at 26:00 Japan time on the 26th)