Today is the third day of the expedition, and finally, it's the first day of the tournament. The long-awaited international competition begins.
The opening ceremony was held in the main court with stands in the morning. There was also a performance by the brass band.
The stands were filled with students from the Evergrande Football School.

Group photo at the opening ceremony venue

1st Round is the local Evergrande Football School team. However, the first team is on an expedition in Spain
◈ Therefore, the opponent is the third team. We cannot afford to lose.

The pre-match meeting was conducted thoroughly.	Finally, onto the pitch for the first match

The team dominated possession against an opponent with a clear technical gap, but there was noticeable stiffness throughout the team, possibly due to the nerves of the first match.
It seems that the poor condition of the pitch was a concern, leading to an overly cautious style of play, with many sideways and backward passes, making it difficult to create decisive opportunities.
In the meantime, the opponent scored directly from a free kick with a one-chance opportunity.

The issue with this team that Coach Okuhara pointed out from the first day of the expedition is the way they handle the game immediately after conceding a goal.
It is said that they have not been able to recover from that and have not been able to achieve good results in the Kanto League so far.
Now, I was worried if we could make a comeback from here, but on this day, we quickly equalized from a corner kick.
Has one challenge been overcome?
FC Tokyo continued to attack, but Guangzhou Evergrande did not allow any goals with their fierce battles for the ball and solid defense in front of the goal, ending the first half in a 1-1 tie.

FC Tokyo, who regained their composure during halftime, faced Evergrande, who began to slow down around the end of the first half.
From the start of the second half, it became a one-sided game for FC Tokyo, and in the 9th minute of the second half, player Kobayashi scored a goal from persistent efforts in front of the goal!
Finally, in the 23rd minute, after successfully taking the lead, Kobayashi scored again, this time directly from a free kick from a similar position where the first half goal was conceded, making it 3 to 1.
After that, player Shiraishi scored multiple goals, ending the match 5 to 1.
Kongda had many players cramp up, and as a result, they were unable to create any chances in the second half.
For FC Tokyo, considering the future goal difference, it was a second half where they wanted to score 2 or 3 more goals.

The match that ended 5 to 1 clearly showcased both the strengths and weaknesses of this team.
In particular, the attacking players have very high abilities, so I hope they take more responsibility and attack more actively, and I expect they can do even more in the matches.

One-on-one battles on the side	After the match, players communicate with each other

This tournament features 8 teams divided into 2 groups, with the top 2 teams advancing to the Final Round. Tomorrow's opponent is Shandong Luneng Football School.
It has produced over 30 players for the Chinese national team, and more than 140 players when including youth categories, making it a prestigious academy with nearly 50 national championship titles.
I believe the opponent today is at a significantly higher level, but I want to win at all costs to ensure we can overcome the group by properly organizing today's challenges and responses.