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KAZAKHSTAN – JAPAN 2:3 (2:0)

Match for the 9th place

January 11th, 2016, St. Petersburg, Peterburgsky SCC, 150 spectators

Best players: Oralkhan Omirtayev, Ryotaro Ito

Post match comments

Oirat Saduov, Head coach of team Kazakhstan:

– I am disappointed, of course. My team was not executing the plan in the second half that we created in half time. We were warning that Japan is a very qualified team and that they can play football having proved it several times on this tournament. My guys only needed to play attentively in defense. We conceded two goals from the standard situations. And this is not permissible. We obviously became relaxed and tired. There's my fault in this as well.

– Was the opponent so much different in two different halves?

– I wouldn't put this in such a precise way. It's our psychological mistake that is obvious. Our players started to feel relaxed after 2:0.

– You lost your main goalkeeper last match and were left with only one. What would you do in case you had to substitute a goalkeeper during this match?

– We spoke with the team yesterday about the situation. Two field players, Alexeyev and Kussyapov, told they had tried playing goalkeeper. And they were the ones who volunteered to take this position if necessary.

Atsushi Uchiyama, Head coach of team Japan:

– The first half was not very successful for us. We made few tactical and technical actions. In the second half we made six substitutions at once and the play became significantly better. However, I am not happy that the quality of the game improves only because of the substitutions. I want my players to show equally high level, so that there is no big difference between the first team and the nearest reserves.

– There was an impression that Japan has an "Ito dependence". Is this correct?

– I don't think that our team should depend on the actions of one player. Ryotaro Ito is indeed a very strong and skilled player. But we use his strong sides in team actions, because football is a team game!

– You've said you worry about the big difference in the level of players. Wouldn't it be easier to start the match with the strongest lineup to let it complete the task of winning, and then put reserve players on the pitch?

– I do not completely agree. Taking the match against Belarus as an example, our team set control over the match still before substitutions, in the first half. I make substitutions not just to change the course of the game. Sometimes it is more important to give the players more playing practice, because young players need it for development. If I had put my best eleven on the pitch the result could have been different. But now we do not pursue the goal of winning the tournament. Our goal is to give the young players a chance to gain experience at an international tournament.

#29 Kazakhstan - Japan