On the night of the 22nd, the Japanese men's soccer team (under 23), who are aiming to qualify for the Paris Olympics, played a warm-up match against the Mali national team, which has decided to qualify for the Olympics, in Kameoka City, Kyoto Prefecture, and lost 1-3.
Japan's under-23 national team had decided to play two final warm-up games this month before the final Asian qualifiers to begin next month to qualify for the Paris Olympics, and played against the Mali national team on the night of the 22nd.
Japan's starting players included Rihito Yamamoto, who plays for Sint-Truiden in the Belgian First Division, and Yu Hirakawa, who has played in all four games for J1 leader FC Machida Zelvia.
Two minutes into the first half, Japan took the lead when Hirakawa reacted to a loose ball from a free kick and fired a shot with his right foot into the right corner of the goal.
However, Mali, who used their high physical ability to develop dynamic attacks, were attacked more and more, and in the 34th minute of the first half, they were attacked after making a mistake in the first half and were able to score a shot, returning the match to a 1-1 tie.
Then, in the 8th minute of the second half, goalkeeper Taishi Brandon Nozawa parried the opponent's mid-range shot and headed the ball back in, allowing the team to score the winning goal, and in the final minutes of the game, they conceded the third goal. .
In the second half, Japan introduced forward Masahiro Hosoya, who participated in this year's Asian Cup as a member of the Japanese national team without any age restrictions, and they stole the ball up front and created chances, but they were unable to score and the game ended at 1-1. I lost by 3.
The Japan under-23 national team will play a warm-up match against Ukraine in Kitakyushu on the 25th, before heading to the final Asian qualifiers to begin in Qatar next month with a chance to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
If they finish in the top three at this tournament, they will qualify for the Olympics, and if they finish in fourth place, they will go to a playoff against Guinea, the African team.
Coach Oiwa: ``We played a bad game''
Tsuyoshi Oiwa, the coach of Japan's under-23 national team, reflected on the match in an interview immediately after the match, saying, ``We had a lot of people cheering us on, but we played a poor game.''
He then said, ``We were able to show an aggressive attitude and a forward-looking attitude, but the results didn't follow. I want to prepare well for our next match against Ukraine.''