The AFC Under-19 Championship takes place in the United Arab Emirates from November 3rd to 17 . . . Japan’s “younger” Samurai Blue will be there!
The Squad:
Goalkeepers—KUSHIBIKI Masatoshi (Shimizu S-Pulse), SUGIMOTO Daichi (Kyoto Sanga), NAKAMURA Kosuke (Kashiwa Reysol U-18)
Defenders—IWANAMI Takuya (Vissel Kobe), ENDO Wataru (Shonan Bellmare), MATSUBARA Ken (Oita Trinita), YAMANAKA Ryosuke (Kashiwa Reysol), SATO Kazuki (Nagoya Grampus), NARA Tatsuki (Consadole Sapporo), KAWAGUCHI Naoki (Albirex Niigata youth), UEDA Naomichi (Ozu High School)
Midfielders—OSHIMA Ryota (Kawasaki Frontale), TANABE Ryota (Nagoya Grampus), KUMAGAI Andrew (Yokohama F. Marinos), SAKAKI Shota (Consadole Sapporo), HASHIMOTO Kento (FC Tokyo), YAJIMA Shinya (Urawa Reds), NOTSUDA Gakuto (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), MATSUMOTO Masaya (JFA Academy)
Forwards—KAZAMA Kohya (Kawasaki Frontale), ONOSE Kosuke (Yokohama FC), WATARI Daiki (Giravanz Kitakyushu), KUBO Yuya (Kyoto Sanga)
The Schedule:
Japan plays Iran on November 3, Kuwait on November 5 and their final game in Group A will be against hosts United Arab Emirates on November 7. All games will be at Emirates Stadium, Ras al-Khaimah.
The Format:
The top two teams in each of the four groups will advance to the Last 8 on November 11. The semi-final will take place on November 14, with the final on November 17 in Ras al-Khaimah.
The four semi-finalists in the tournament will qualify for the 2013 FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Turkey.
The Japan squad have been in camp since October 22nd.
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