England expedition finally on the 7th day.

I had breakfast after gymnastics today and took a 2 and a half hour bus ride to the Middlesbrough FC training ground.

Middlesbrough FC also uses the same facility for both the first team and the academy, with 7 natural grass fields for the first team, 2 natural grass fields and 2 artificial turf fields for the academy, and an indoor training facility.

Middlesbrough FC, who we will be facing this time, also has players from the England national team, making them the strongest team in this expedition.
At the pre-match meeting, Coach Nakamura said, "Just like yesterday's match against Burnley, this is an important match for the T-League and Prince League. The opponent is also a great team, so let's give it our all and win for sure."

The opponent was a team composed of U-19 members in the first half, with high physical and speed abilities, as well as very high skills. There were moments where we faced a pinch due to small mistakes.
However, Tokyo also manages to steal the ball with a coordinated defense, quickly responding with attacks and somehow manages to survive the first half without conceding any goals.

At halftime, Coach Nakamura confirmed the press back and passing to connect to the attack, saying "It will be important to win this kind of game in the future. Let's fight until the end and win," and sent the players onto the pitch.

The opponent suddenly changed their members in the second half and challenged with the U-18 members.
Tokyo was immediately attacked from the start of the second half, but we managed to hold on with our defense line. Tokyo also tried to counterattack by winning the ball in the midfield, but we were unable to connect with accurate final passes and score.

In the second half, due to the increased load of playing against a year above in the first half, the play gradually slows down and we are pushed back for a while.
However, with everyone calling out together, we defended with our bodies until the end, and the game ended in a scoreless draw.
Although we were unable to score, being able to concentrate until the end and defend was a great confidence boost.

After the match, we had a meal at Middlesbrough FC's clubhouse and exchanged commemorative gifts.
During that time, Middlesbrough FC's head coach Tony Pulis came to greet us and we took a commemorative photo together.

Finally, we returned to the hotel after presenting uniforms to the chefs who treated us to delicious dishes and taking a commemorative photo.
Saying goodbye to Tony, who has been driving the bus for the team since the first day, when I returned to the hotel. He taught me various information while driving the bus, and also supported us closely during the game. He especially mentioned that he loves Tachida's play.
I'm so glad I met a really good driver.

England's last dinner was fish and chips! We enjoyed country food.

After dinner, we will have the final meeting for the expedition.
I confirmed the good and bad things while looking back on today's game.
The coach also said, "As the past five games have shown, the team has become more cohesive and has reduced the number of goals conceded as we continue to play in England. It was good for the team to hold on and keep a clean sheet in such a tough time like today."

And finally, we took a commemorative photo with the hotel staff and ended the 7th day.

Tomorrow, we will depart at 4am and head to Manchester International Airport.
I will make sure to prepare well so that I don't forget anything and go home.