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Slovakia – Japan

Group A, 03.01.2016, 14:15

Best players: Christian Herc, Takehiro Tomiyasu

Post match comments

Milan Malatinsky, Head coach of team Slovakia:

– I thank the organizers for the opportunity to take part in this tournament. I am very glad that we could win against the strong and creative Japanese team. I must admit that the Japanese controlled the ball better, and it makes our victory more pleasant. We were also able to perform good attacks and had perfect scoring chances.

– We’ve got used to you bringing players who are already playing for Italian clubs despite the young age. Could you please tell us more about them?

– I am glad that we’ve managed to bring here footballers who play abroad. And these players are happy to meet their teammates and to play for the national team against rather strong teams. It’s good that they play abroad, but they need to develop to become first in their clubs and to get into the A-team – this is one of our main tasks.

Atushi Uchiyama, Head coach of team Japan:

– I am very disappointed with the result of the match. We had many chances to score a goal, but we were unable to use them. At the same time we made lots of mistakes in midfield and, hence, our loss.

– You said that it were midfielders who made mistakes, but watching the first half we noticed that even if Japan concedes a goal that would be due to poor play in defense. Why do you think the team had so many mistakes?

– One of the reasons is the conditions we’re experiencing. We’d had a long trip and we did not manage to adapt to local time. Additionally, our internal championship ended and the players did not get an opportunity to reach necessary level of preparation.

– How would you describe the lineup you brought to the tournament – is it optimal?

– Indeed, some players could not come. For some it were the clubs that did not let them join the team. And some got injuries that became a reason not to come to St. Petersburg.

– Compared to previous tournaments your team has changed the style. Instead of attacking wide, today we saw short passes or long deliveries betting on speed of strikers. What made you change tactics?

– Today it was difficult for us to break through defensive lines of Slovakia, and we had to play in a way that our opponent would let us. Slovakia is a very well organized team, and we made attempts to pass their defense in such a way, but this tactics was not successful.

Slovakia - Japan highlights

#2 Slovakia - Japan