match Match Schedule & Results

[Reserves]
GK: 21, Koki Ito
DF: -
MF: -
FW: 18, Amos Bouzo

○ Match Digest
Today marks the first match of the second league in the Kanto Tournament of the Japan Club Youth Soccer Championship (U-18).
This second league is divided into four groups, with six teams in each group competing in a round-robin format to determine their rankings. Every year, based on the results of this tournament, the top three teams from each group advance to the ranking tournament. The teams that win the 9th representative playoff (9th place), contested by the top two teams and the third-place team, up to the 9th place, qualify to participate in the Japan Club Youth Soccer Championship (U-18) tournament. This leads to fierce competition for the ticket to the national tournament. The first match for FC Tokyo U-18, belonging to Group A, against Tsukuba FC Youth kicked off at 5:00 p.m. at the Tokyo Gas Musashino-En Multipurpose Ground.

To gain an advantage in the upcoming league matches, goal difference holds significant weight, so the entire team confirmed the importance of scoring as many goals as possible, and the players headed onto the pitch.

In the first half, the opponent attempted possession soccer starting from their GK. In response, Tokyo pressed boldly as a team from the start, and at 6 minutes, Iwata stole the ball from the opposing center back and immediately shot!! Calmly placing the ball into the corner of the goal, he scored the opener. At 10 minutes, Kawakami made a run behind the opposing defenders and passed through to Iwata. He neatly finished the ball, calmly adding a second goal!! Tokyo pressed on while the opponent was unsettled, and at 14 minutes, connecting from Nihei to Nozawa for the finish, and at 16 minutes, connecting from Takahashi to Ito who scored, leading 4-0 within 16 minutes!! After that, many chances were created and shots taken, but two shots hit the crossbar and the opponent GK made good saves, preventing additional goals. Amid a stagnant mood, at 32 minutes, Nihei slotted in a ball kept by Iwata in the center for a goal!! It seemed they regained their rhythm, but the opponent gradually got used to Tokyo’s pressing and began connecting passes. At 45 minutes, the right side was broken down, and a foul was committed inside their own penalty area, conceding a penalty kick. The penalty was converted, resulting in a goal against. The half ended with the score 5-1.

At halftime, the team confirmed their intention to play more aggressively and aim for more goals as they headed back onto the pitch.

A goal rush started right from the beginning of the second half! At the 55th minute, Nihei scored, followed by Iwata at the 57th, Takahashi at the 59th, Kawakami at the 61st, and then Iwata continued to score at the 62nd, 64th, 69th, 70th, and 72nd minutes, bringing the score to 14–1!! Fresh players were brought on one after another: at the 68th minute, Asano replaced Yanagisawa, Tamiya replaced Onishi, Kan replaced Ito at the 71st, Nagasawa replaced Takahashi at the 74th, and Hasukawa replaced Iwata at the 76th. At the 74th minute, Nihei added another goal, and at the 75th, Nagasawa finished Kawakami’s cross from the left with his right foot for an additional goal!! At the 87th minute, Hasukawa headed in Kawakami’s left corner kick to seal the 17th goal!!
All players, including those who came on as substitutes, were active and scored many goals, allowing the team to earn 3 points.

The next matches will be back-to-back games against Ventforet Kofu U-18 on June 2nd and Omiya Ardija Youth on the following day, June 3rd. Without dwelling on this victory, we aim for the national tournament and will approach the challenge with even greater focus.

Thank you very much for your passionate support today as well.
We kindly ask for your continued warm support for FC Tokyo U-18.

*There are no photos included in today's match digest. Thank you for your understanding in advance.