On the 28th, Japan's women's soccer team Nadeshiko Japan will play against North Korea in the second match of the final Asian qualifying round for the Paris Olympics.
On the 27th, in preparation for the decisive battle for the ticket to Paris, they held an official practice at the National Stadium, the venue for the match.
Coach Futoshi Ikeda said, ``I'm planning tomorrow as if it's the finals, just thinking about winning.''
The match will be held from 6:30 p.m. on the 28th, and will be broadcast on NHK's General TV, as well as simultaneous and missed broadcasts on NHK Plus.
The women's soccer final Asian qualifying round for the Paris Olympics will be contested on a home-and-away basis, with the team with the higher total score from two games qualifying.
Japan and North Korea drew 0-0 in the first match held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the 24th of this month.
[Round 1 Details] Nadeshiko Japan Paris Olympics Final Qualifying Round 1 Draw with North Korea
With the decisive second match approaching on the 28th, the Japanese national team held an official practice at the National Stadium, the match venue.
Regarding the final qualifying round, the first match was originally scheduled to be played in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, but the Asian Football Confederation gave reasons such as the fact that North Korea has regular flights with other countries. In an unusual situation, the proposal was made to hold the match at a neutral venue, but the venue was only decided three days before the match.
Only the first 15 minutes of the official practice were open to the press, and although the Japanese players had just returned to Japan on the 26th, they appeared relaxed and warmed up by running and doing short dashes. .
Coach Futoshi Ikeda: ``Just think about winning like it's the finals''
Speaking at a press conference prior to the official practice, Japan national team coach Futoshi Ikeda said, ``We are planning tomorrow as if it were the finals, just thinking about winning.The whole team is excited to be able to play a game like this at home.'' It's making me proud," he said.
Regarding the condition of the players, he said, ``Everyone, including the players who participated in the first game, is in a fighting condition.I think they will be able to make adjustments to the areas that were damaged in the first game and go into the game.'' .
《NHK broadcast schedule》
Match start date February 28th (Wednesday) 18:34
Tokyo National Stadium
[Broadcast schedule]
NHK General 18:25 ~
Simultaneous and missed broadcasts available on NHK Plus