On April 5th (Wed), the third day of the France expedition, we moved to Clairefontaine, a national soccer training center in France, in the morning and had lunch at the dining hall inside the facility.
Afterwards, I was guided through the facilities by Vice Principal Mikhael at Clairefontaine.
The facility used by the French national team for training camps is known for its historical buildings, numerous pitches, and cameras for analyzing matches and training. It allows us to directly see and experience everything from historical places to the latest facilities.
In the afternoon, a training match with Clairefontaine U-14 for 35 minutes was conducted.
Continuing the back-and-forth battle, taking advantage of the reflection from the previous day, not hesitating to challenge opponents with high individual abilities and techniques, persistently extending the legs to steal the ball even when knocked down.
In the meantime, in the 27th minute of the first half, we conceded a goal as the opponent broke through from behind. We go into halftime trailing 0-1.
Conceded a goal from a mistake in the 17th minute of the second half, making it 0-2.
Despite creating numerous scenes where they press from a high position and approach the goal, FC Tokyo's shots did not result in a goal. However, a shot from FC Tokyo hit the hand of an opponent in the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick.
In the 28th minute of the second half, Riku NAKASHIMA calmly scored a penalty kick to make it 1-2, but the game ended like that.
Although we were able to play our own style of soccer against a strong opponent, it was a game where we experienced the fear of being taken advantage of in a momentary lapse.
And after the match, we praised each other's efforts and were able to spend a wonderful time together.
After that, when I entered the dormitory of Paris Saint-Germain FC to have dinner, I encountered Ethan Mbappe (the younger brother of Kylian Mbappe) and Warren Zaire Emery, who is already 17 years old and has made his debut in the first team. They kindly agreed to take a commemorative photo.
It is the third day of the expedition, and we are able to spend a very meaningful time not only on the soccer field but also off the pitch.
