The opponent for the last match of the Germany expedition is SV Werder Bremen U17
It became a battle that we absolutely cannot lose against opponents who have players of the same generation.
The venue was kicked off at 16:30 at the training ground a few hundred meters from SV Werder Bremen's home base, Weser Stadium.
I want to express the game as the culmination of the expedition.
Tokyo, who has become familiar with the 4-3-3 formation during this expedition, struggles to take the initiative in both attack and defense against opponents who try to move the ball wide.
Furthermore, amidst sudden severe weather with heavy rain and strong winds, they were conceded the opening goal from a long ball.
As time passed, we gradually got used to the opponent's build-up and managed to steal the ball in a high position. Kim scored a goal with a mid-range shot, and we ended the first half with a 1-1 tie.
At halftime, Coach Sato said, "Foreign players have characteristics such as long legs, but if you can play while observing the opponent, the world will expand even more." and motivated the team for the second half.
After being inspired by these words, they showed an aggressive attack early in the second half and Kubo scored a goal to turn the game around to 2-1.
However, immediately after taking the lead, we conceded goals consecutively due to mistakes and allowed the score to become 2-3 again.
Afterwards, despite creating several chances from aggressive defense, they were unable to convert them and instead were overwhelmed by the opponent's individual speed and strength, conceding additional points to make it 2-5.
Tokyo, which never gives up, continues to launch a positive attack led by Yachida and Haga, but falls just short of equalizing with goals from Nakatani and Kubo near the end of the match.
It became a defeat of 4-5.
It was clear that we had to experience the sophisticated and high-level football of Germany in this expedition, and we had to further build up as a team and as individuals.
After the end of the match, we all enjoyed the traditional German dish "Schweinehaxe" together as it was the final night in Germany.
