Second day of the England expedition.
After a three and a half hour bus ride from Manchester International Airport, we arrived at Sunderland, our first base.
The hotel we are staying at this time has the best location with the ocean spread out in front of it, and the players who traveled for about 24 hours forgot their fatigue and were in high spirits.
I completed the check-in and greeted Mr. Gerard, who will be attending this expedition, and Ms. Paris, the coordinator.
Mr. Gerrard took care of us during last year's U-18 Germany expedition, and Mr. Paris helped us during the U-15 Musashi Denmark expedition four years ago.
I received the words, "I am happy to see you again. I hope you gain good experiences on this expedition and grow well."
After that, we had lunch and took a short break before the first training session of this expedition.
The training venue has been borrowed from Sunderland AFC's practice ground.
Perhaps due to jet lag and fatigue from long travel, the players seemed heavy in body, but they moved their bodies for about 2 hours to prepare for the consecutive matches starting tomorrow.
After that, return to the hotel for about 2 hours of free time.
The players spent their time organizing their belongings and going shopping at a nearby supermarket.
And dinner.
Some players are a bit confused by the different flavors compared to Japan, some eat quietly without worrying about anything, and some are just chatting away... There are various types, but everyone actively enjoyed their meals while going back for seconds.
After finishing the meal, we held a meeting while watching the footage of the recent match against Nagoya by the TOP team.
Coach Nakamura discussed the plays, positioning, and tactics he expects from the U-18 players, and it seemed that the players were expanding their imaginations in preparation for tomorrow's match.
Finally, the coach talked about the schedule for tomorrow and the special rules during this expedition, concluding the activities for the second day.
Tomorrow is the first match of the England expedition against Sunderland AFC.
We will fight together with all our strength!
