It's the fourth day since I arrived in Germany, and the weather has been sunny and warm every day, making it easy to spend time.
I am able to see cherry blossoms for the first time this year in Germany.
Today, we spent the morning resting as we had a double header, and each of us went for a walk. We are now preparing for the practice game in the afternoon.
Today's opponent is the powerhouse Kaiserslautern U19, currently in 2nd place in the U19 BUNDESLIGA.
A team that comes at us with a well-organized and coordinated attack, unlike our previous opponents, building up from the back line.
They respond to such opponents with a compact defense, but they are pushed in one after another by opponents with individual abilities, strength, speed, and an unprecedented experience.
11 minutes, the ball was cleared after the final line was lowered to the back and a goal was conceded from the loose ball.
In addition, in the 14th minute immediately after, a powerful header shot was scored by the opponent who was free from the corner kick that we were cautious about.
I wanted to recover here, but I gave a foul from the FK ball and conceded a PK. They scored it perfectly and we ended up conceding 3 goals in the early stages.
After conceding a goal, the players gather on the pitch to discuss countermeasures. In the 31st minute, Hara initiated the play from behind the defensive line, and Yoshida, who followed, evaded the defenders and took a shot, but it hit the side net.
Tokyo, who launched an offensive, had Hara break through the opponent's defensive line and pick up the clearance ball from the jumping GK. However, Imamura's looping shot, which went beyond the GK, missed the target.
As he aggressively moved forward, Yoshida received a pass from Shinaida in the 41st minute and his shot was weakly caught by the goalkeeper.
Lost the chance to regain rhythm and conceded a goal by giving away a penalty in the 43rd minute.
The first half ends with a score of 0-4.
"There is nothing to lose! We have no choice but to do it!" - a voice that greeted the second half.
Press aggressively, collide with the body, and increase the time to push by challenging with courage.
Yokoyama's breakthrough after the second half, Yoshida's run into the space behind, Hitoda's distribution combining long and short passes, creating opportunities from Kobayashi's dedication.
◈Then, in the 63rd minute, after pressing the front line and stealing the ball from Shinaida, Yoshida and Yokoyama pass it over and score a powerful shot to make it 1-1.
In the 71st minute, Yoshida skillfully positioned himself to break free from behind Hitoda with the ball and calmly closed the gap to a 2-point difference by winning a one-on-one against the goalkeeper.
Despite facing physically strong opponents, Hyun Soo JANG continued to challenge for the ball and kept pushing towards the goal, but was unable to convert the chances, resulting in a 2-4 defeat.
It was a day where I could feel the things I couldn't do and the things I could do against opponents who were strong, tall, fast, and difficult to experience in the third match.
How to fight in such a situation, including consecutive matches and the environment.
How much dedication and single-mindedness can you show?
I hope the players can connect their experiences and feelings to the future.