Today, on the 6th day of the expedition, it was the Group Stage Matchday 3 against PHILADELPHIA UNION.
Pre-match meeting | Starting Lineup for Today |
The match, which took place in cold weather with strong winds and no increase in temperature, became a battle in a situation where the outcome would determine whether the team could advance to the top tournament.
After 7 minutes, Kobayashi (Miki) heads the ball from Hitoda's free kick, but it hits the post and bounces away.
Tokyo, who actively tries to steal the ball from PHILADELPHIA UNION, attempts a careful build-up.
13 minutes, 18 minutes, Hideta and Kobayashi (Miki) are looking for a chance to score a goal with long shots using the wind.
Tokyo maintained control throughout the match, but the opposing team with power and speed managed to attack at crucial moments in the first half.
Defending and attacking in front of the corner kick goal | Kobayashi's header hits the post... |
Under the instruction of Coach Tadashi NAKAMURA, who emphasized the importance of helping each other, the game quickly started in the second half with the players being encouraged to "definitely win!"
51 minutes, Shina received the ball in the midfield and made a diagonal run from the right side, passing it through to Fukino. Fukino, who got behind the defense line, attracted the goalkeeper and passed it to Imamura, who was free. Imamura easily kicked the ball into the goal, scoring the opening point.
After taking the lead, the opponent was given chances but the DF line rose to the occasion and did not concede any goals.
However, in the 67th minute, a header shot was scored from a corner kick, equalizing the score to 1-1.
PHILADELPHIA UNION starts moving the ball after scoring and begins to threaten the Tokyo goal.
In the 73rd minute, a dribble from the right side resulted in a shot, allowing the opponent to finally take the lead.
Tokyo fought until the end to aim for an equalizing goal, but unfortunately they lost 1-2, with one more point being far away.
Fukino, who assisted the opening goal |
Tokyo became the second place in Group due to the results of other teams' matches and will proceed to compete in the second place tournament.
※1st place → PUMAS, 2nd place → Tokyo, 3rd place → PHILADELPHIA UNION, 4th place → COLORADO RAPIDS
(Starting from the next match, the games will be played in a tournament format based on each team's ranking.)
Coach Tadashi NAKAMURA's post-match comments
"The first half was not bad in terms of ball possession and number of shots, despite playing against the wind. In the second half, we were able to score goals in that momentum, but we couldn't cope with the opponent's power and speed when our legs started to slow down."
Unfortunately, we couldn't make it to the top tournament, but we gave everything we had, so we want to do our best again from the next match.
After the match ended and lunch, we went to a nearby shopping mall with the help of local Japanese community members.
It is the first time during the tournament to go shopping, and everyone enjoyed shopping while feeling the American atmosphere.
In the afternoon, to the shopping mall | Choose souvenirs as you like |
We will continue to make new preparations for the ranking determination tournament starting the day after tomorrow.