On April 9th (Sun), the 7th day of the France expedition, a total of 3 matches were played, including 2 matches in the main tournament ranking league and 1 match in the ranking decision match.
Sec. 2 of the ranking determination league was held against the prestigious FC Porto from Portugal.
The players of FC Porto are not only individually skilled, but also have a well-organized way of playing as a group, and they had a lot of possession of the ball. However, FC Tokyo did not lose in terms of individual quality, and they created chances by initiating counters from good ball recoveries, and by repeatedly creating opportunities through dribbles from the side with Tessyo TAKAI as the center. It was a tense game from start to finish. The result ended in a 0-0 draw for both teams.
And the third match of the ranking determination league was against the selected team from Sansu region.
If we win this match by a margin of three or more points, we can advance to the top decision tournament of the ranking determination league. The players were also highly motivated.
This game will have many situations where we will have control of the ball.
In the 3rd minute of the first half, Riku NAKASHIMA passed the ball to Tessyo TAKAI, who broke through and calmly slotted it into the goal, making it 1-0.
The first half ended with a score of 1-0, and in the 5th minute of the second half, Takuto Ishimura scored a volley shot from a corner kick, making it 2-0.
In addition, in the 15th minute of the second half, Rento KAJIYAMA scored a header from Arata WATANABE's cross, making it 3-0.
We were able to win with a score of 3-0 and advance to the tournament to determine the 13th to 16th places.
The opponent in the Semifinal Round of the ranking determination tournament was Fulham FC from England.
Despite the players' fatigue from playing three consecutive games in two days, we approached this expedition with the awareness of fighting through not only for this trip but also for our future growth.
If the match ends in a draw, it will go straight to a penalty shootout.
There were signs of fatigue and noticeable technical and coordination mistakes, but GK Taishi SUZUKI and Shunpei KATO, among others, defended the goal without losing focus. The second half continued with a back-and-forth battle, but we couldn't break through and were prepared for a penalty shootout. With 30 seconds left in additional time, Riku HASHIMOTO received the ball on the right side and crossed it to the far side, where Shuto JO met it. We were able to secure a dramatic 1-0 victory with a goal.
Not only as a team, but the entire venue was excited by this dramatic development.
When we returned to the locker room, we all celebrated together with Carl, a local supporter who has been with us.
Afterwards, we moved to the dining area and had dinner. While we were eating, the birthday song (French version) started playing in the venue, and we celebrated the birthdays of three players: Louis ONONUJU, Hisato MATSUMOTO, and Shuntaro SANO, whose birthdays are coming up. Other players and staff from the team also joined in the celebration, and the three of them looked very happy.
Mr. Oguri, who is attending this France expedition, has planned things such as cakes and venue arrangements.
Tomorrow is finally the last day of the tournament.
Today, FC Porto will play against each other to determine the 13th and 14th places.
We will do our best to end the final match of the expedition in a good way.
