Second day of England expedition.
I arrived in Sunderland, my first base, after a 3 and a half hour bus ride from Manchester International Airport.
The hotel we are staying at this time has the best location with the sea right in front of us, and the players who have traveled for about 24 hours are forgetting their fatigue and raising their spirits.
We checked in and received greetings from Mr. Gerrard and coordinator Ms. Paris, who will be attending this expedition.
Mr. Gerrard was taken care of during last year's U-18 Germany expedition, and Mr. Paris was taken care of during the U-15 Musashi Denmark expedition 4 years ago.
"I'm glad to see you again. I hope you gain good experience and grow up firmly during this expedition," we received these words.
Afterwards, we had lunch and then took a short break before heading to the first training session of this expedition.
The training venue was borrowed from Sunderland AFC's practice field.
The players seemed to be physically heavy, perhaps due to jet lag and long travel, but they spent about 2 hours moving their bodies to prepare for the consecutive games starting tomorrow.
Afterwards, we returned to the hotel and had about 2 hours of free time.
The players spent their time organizing their luggage and going shopping at a nearby supermarket.
And dinner.
There are players who are a little confused by the different taste from Japan, players who eat quietly without worrying about anything, and players who talk a lot... but everyone enjoyed their meal while actively getting seconds.
After finishing eating, we held a meeting while watching the footage of the recent TOP team's match against Nagoya.
There were talks from Coach Nakamura about the plays, positioning, and tactics he expects from the U-18 players, which will serve as a reference for them. The players seemed to be visualizing and preparing for tomorrow's game.
The coach gave a talk about tomorrow's schedule and the special rules during this expedition, and the second day's activities came to an end.
Tomorrow, it will be the first match of the England tour against Sunderland AFC.
We will fight together with all our strength!
