The Japan under-23 men's soccer team, who are aiming to participate in the Paris Olympics this summer, will play a warm-up match against the Ukraine national team in Kitakyushu on March 25th.
Prior to this, coach Tsuyoshi Oiwa visited Kitakyushu City on the 8th and spoke about his enthusiasm.
Director Oiwa visited Kitakyushu City Hall and met with Deputy Mayor Chikako Oba.
Deputy Mayor Oba said, ``We have had the national team come to Kitakyushu Stadium three times so far, and we have won all of them.I am confident that they will win against Ukraine on the 25th as well, and I will be rooting for them.''
In response, Coach Oiwa said, ``I think Kitakyushu Stadium is a great stadium for the players because it has a sense of realism.We will do our best to win and continue our winning streak.''
The Japanese under-23 team will compete in the final Asian qualifying round in Qatar starting in April, with a chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
Prior to this, warm-up matches were held against the Mali under-23 national team in Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture on March 22nd, and against the Ukraine under-23 national team in Kitakyushu City on the 25th, and these two games were the final qualifying matches. This will be the last strengthening place before.
Coach Oiwa said, ``The team is in good shape, so I want to continue that and prepare well for the tense final qualifying round.The goal is to improve our tactics and continue what we've been doing, so the team as a whole I want to seek to raise the standards of the industry," he said.