5th day of the Spain expedition. Today is the 2nd day of the tournament.
In the morning, a training match with the local team La Cultural Leonesa.
The opponent is a U-16 team that is 2 years older.
Tokyo takes the lead with Ken Yamura's goal and continues to move the ball at a good tempo without being intimidated by the physically strong opponents. However, they concede a goal from a mistake and end the first half with a score of 1-1.
Although there were some mistakes, it was a first half where proactive challenges were visible.
However, in the second half, it turned into a situation where we were constantly under attack from the opponent's strong offense. We couldn't bounce back and conceded a goal. Although we managed to score one point with Yoshida's goal, the final result was a 2-6 defeat. It was a game where our strengths and weaknesses became clear.
After lunch, relax.
Take a walk around the city with everyone and Leon.
And finally, the second match that will determine whether we advance to the group stage. Our opponent is Real Betis.
The match kicked off at 8:00 PM local time.
Tokyo, which needs a 3-point difference victory to advance to the group stage, goes to steal the ball with a powerful pressing characteristic of Tokyo from the beginning. It was a start with full power of their own, such as strength in the ball and quick switching. In the 17th minute, they took the lead with Izumi's goal. In the immediate 19th minute, Yoshida broke through from the coordinated passing work and scored a goal. They end the first half with a score of 2-0.
In the second half, Real Betis will also step up their game and launch fast-paced attacks.
Still, they don't let the opponent score with a defense centered around GK Keisuke Nakamura. However, they conceded a goal from a set piece in the 15th minute. In the 18th and 23rd minutes, they conceded again, making it 2-3.
Continuing to attack without giving up until the end, but the game ended as it was. Finished the group stage in 3rd place.
There were many challenges, but it was a game where Tokyo's hard work was evident.
Tomorrow is the 5th place playoff.
We will continue to work hard and fight tomorrow as the culmination of our expedition.
