Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jiangyin: Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu believes that his team still have room to grow, despite having a near perfect record in their AFC U23 Championship 2018 Group B campaign.
The young Samurai Blue have only conceded one goal, through DPR Korea’s Kim Yu-song’s strike from the centre of the box in the 52nd minute on Tuesday, and Moriyasu admits that it was an unexpected goal which gave them a shock.
“DPR Korea are a strong team, with some players playing for the national team, so we didn’t expect to have that scare,” said the former Sanfrecce Hiroshima coach.
“We were leading by two goals before they (DPR Korea) scored, but things like this happen in football where we could face difficult times.
“When DPR Korea came at us, we made some errors, but we ended up scoring another.”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jiangyin: Japan are slowly but surely making their way towards defending their AFC U23 Championship title, having claimed top spot in Group B after a 3-1 win over DPR Korea on Tuesday, but Koji Mioyshi wants them to be viewed as fresh contenders.
Japan beat Korea Republic 3-2 in the final of the 2016 edition to claim their first title, but the 20-year-old revealed that there is no pressure on the team and revealed what is most important to him as the skipper is to uphold the pride and achievements of his seniors.
“I don’t think there’s any pressure to defend the title, but we know that Japan were champions in the previous edition, so we want to behave as champions,” said Miyoshi.
“But honestly, I think we are challengers, rather than the title defenders. And as challengers, we want to win the title.”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Changzhou: Captain Chenrop Samphaodi believes his Thailand team have learned valuable lessons from their AFC U23 Championship 2018 campaign which ended with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Palestine on Wednesday.
Chenrop was on target for the Southeast Asian side, but four goals in the first half and a strike from Shehab Qumbor in the dying embers of the second period saw Thailand, who failed to gain a single point, finish bottom of Group B.
“Before the match against Palestine, I spoke to my teammates and said that our target was to get at least a point from the game,” explained the 22-year-old Muangthong United forward.
“We knew that it would be a hard game as Palestine had the physical advantage, but we wanted to give it a go anyway, especially after losing the first two matches.
“The standard of the teams that qualified for the competition is very high, we are looking at the best 16 teams in Asia. But, going forward, we know that we will definitely do our best and learn as much as we can (from our experiences).”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jiangyin: Japan’s unbeaten streak continued in the AFC U23 Championship 2018 as they beat DPR Korea 3-1 to seal top spot in Group B on Tuesday.
The loss for DPR Korea, along with Palestine’s 5-1 victory over Thailand, meant Ju Song-il’s side missed out on a second place finish on goal difference.
Takahiro Yanagi and Koji Miyoshi gave Japan a healthy first half lead, and Kim Yu-song’s 52nd minute effort was wiped out by a penalty converted by Reo Hatate in the 72nd minute.
Japan, who had secured their place in the final eight after beating Thailand on Matchday Two, opted for a complete squad change from their previous match line-up but maintained their disciplined style of play.
DPR Korea played in their usual aggressive style, which forced their East Asian rivals to think quickly on their feet
Yanagi opened the scoring in the 32nd minute when Hiroki Ito’s free-kick found him in front of the goalmouth and he made no mistake from close range to take the lead.