U-17 Japan National Team squad & schedule - AFC U17 Asian Cup™ Thailand 2023 (6/17-7/2＠Thailand） Squad GK 12 KAMBAYASHI Taisei (Montedio Yamagata Youth) 1 GOTO Wataru (FC Tokyo U-18) 23 ARAKI Rui (Gamba Osaka Youth) DF 13 YOSHINAGA Yumeki (Kamimura Gakuen High School) 3 KOSUGI Keita (Shonan Bellmare U-18) 5 NAGANO Shuto (FC Tokyo U-18) 17 SHIBATA Shotaro (Kawasaki Frontale U-18) 4 TSUCHIYA Kaito (Kawasaki Frontale U-18) 16 HONDA Kotaro (Shonan Bellmare U-18) 2 MATSUMOTO Haruto (Kashima Antlers Youth) 22 KUROKI Yuya (Sagan Tosu U-18) MF 19 MIYAGAWA Daiki (Gamba Osaka Youth) 18 NAKAJIMA Yotaro (Sanfrecce Hiroshima Youth) 20 KAWAMURA Gakuto (Tokyo Verdy Youth) 7 SUGIURA Shungo (Nagoya Grampus U-18) 15 YAMAMOTO Joi (Tokyo Verdy Youth) 8 MOCHIZUKI Kohei (Yokohama F. Marinos Youth) 6 YADA Ryunosuke (Shimizu S-Pulse Youth) 10 SATO Ryunosuke (FC Tokyo U-18) 21 YAMAGUCHI Gota (Shohei High School) FW 9 MICHIWAKI Yutaka (Roasso Kumamoto) 14 NAWATA Gaku (Kamimura Gakuen High School) 11 TAKAOKA Rento (Nissho Gakuen High School) Sat. 17 June 17:00 vs U-17 Uzbekistan National Team Tue. 20 June 17:00 vs U-17 Vietnam National Team Fri. 23 June 19:00 vs U-17 India National Team
Wild game last night. Japan beat India 8 - 4. Some fine forwards and midfielders on the team: Takaoka and Michiwaka really stood out. The defense was not as solid. Next game Australia on Monday night at 17:00 Japan time on Dazn.
Number 3 Kosugi, the captain, looked quite impressive with his intelligence and passing ability, however his lacking in physical power leaded to Australia's only goal. On the other hand, number 9 Michiwaki also had standout performance but it was mostly by his height, let see how he'd develop in the future.
What a big game for the young players. This win sends them to the World Cup in November in Indonesia. #3 Kosugi was indeed impressive, also captain of the team. He was battling with the Australian phenom, Irankunda. Irankunda did get by him once for the goal but overall he was very tough. Takaoka comes off the bench and scores wonderful goal off a great pass from the 10 Sato. This team has a lot of confidence. 2 more games to go, Iran and probably S. Korea.
Say what??? Just 6 months after FIFA banned the WCU20 in Indonesia they give Thohir the WCU17??? I miss something?
Major twist in the U17 final: South Korea's number 20 (J. H. Ko) has been sent off on a 2nd yellow card in the 44th minute. edit: And a goal from Nawata on the ensuing free kick! His 4th of the tournament.
Perhaps one of the best finals to memory, aside from Korea playing in 10 for a while. SK deserved a PK in the second half but in the end Japan created the better chances.
Final score: South Korea 0-3 Japan. Gaku Nawata with a brace and Yutaka Michiwaki with a goal on the very lasy kick of the ball are the goalscorers. South Korea definitely deserved a penalty within the final 10 minutes if it wasn't for an apparent absence of VAR in this tournament. Nevertheless, Japan dominated as they created the majority of quality goalscoring chances. Statistics: Shots: 6 (KOR) - 18 (JPN) Shots on goal: 2 (KOR) - 9 (JPN) Possession: 45.0% (KOR) - 55.0% (JPN) Passes: 410 (KOR) - 500 (JPN) Pass accuracy: 79.0% (KOR) - 84.6% (JPN) Fouls: 9 (KOR) - 9 (JPN) Yellow cards: 1 (KOR) - 1 (JPN) Red cards: 1 (KOR) - 0 (JPN) Offsides: 0 (KOR) - 0 (JPN) Corners: 3 (KOR) - 4 (JPN)
It's a miracle that Japan's goalkeeper didn't directly involve in any goal concedes in 3 matches against Australia, Iran and Korea while he basically tried to assist the opponents every match.
My 2 cents on this tournament: Japan deserved champions and far superior to all other teams, although the dubious refereeing in the final. 22 goals scored in 6 matches! This is the most exciting U-17 JNT since the 2011 generation. Gaku Nawata won the MVP award and he showed it's not just his face that looks like Mesut Özil , but I'd rate the performances as follows: 1. Ryunosuke Sato 2. Gaku Nawata 3. Keita Kosugi, Kohei Mochizuki, Yutaka Michiwaki, Yotaro Nakajima
I was sick and miss the match. What happened? Youtube comments talk about a thievery etc. Same good old SK hatred over Japan or something more real?
The referee was too harsh on the second yellow for the Korean player and there was a clear penalty he ignored when Japan was already 2-0 up.
You can still watch the whole thing at anytime for a better apreciation right here: Just as previously said, it was a harsh second yellow against Ko Jong-hyun for taking Nawata down in the 44th minute (58:15 in the video). Then Goto clearly fouled Kim Myeong-Jun in the 83rd minute (1:57:31 in the video). Everyone and their mother knew that should have been a penalty, but the referee was asleep somehow. Regardless, I don't believe the outcome of the final would have been different since the number and the quality of goalscoring chances were on Japan's side. The match would have been a closer affair if it wasn't for the referee though.
They will have a chance to prove their abilities once again at the WC. I'd say Japan will still be the favorite in case somehow they manage to meet again (at least at the quarter final which is a big if). However to reach this far the Japanese goalkeeper should sort out his positioning and movement. The teams in WC are obviously at another level and one f*ck up moment from him would bring down all the team's effort. Also I don't understand what they're doing with training the goalkeepers in Japan nowadays. I only watch highlights but goalkeepers' blunders in J League happen in nearly weekly basic. They all try to pass the ball like they're Ederson or Allison but sadly it just likes Ederson or Allison in Brazil jersey.
Basically I agree with this rating. The team has surprisingly redundant talents in MF positions onward. Even when they used the supposedly substitute players, the quality in attacking plays didn't drop that much. I think the weakest link in MF is number 6, somehow when they go all out attack, sub the number 6 out and bring number 10 Sato into the middle, the team plays even more smoothly. The SBs are also very good, not that stand out but are a fresh air in comparison with the disasters in U20 team. The CBs had some difficult moments against Australia or Iran but overall they are acceptable. The position which is clearly one level below all of the teammates is the GK.
I expected something more "unbearable" than this. Especially the second yellow card. Wasn't it a clear score chance? The CB was the last man before the GK and fouled the FW ignoring the ball. Imo not a yellow but a direct red card. The penalty was clear and not influential on the final result.