U-17 WC: Need more battles of high intensity in Japan, feels coach Moriyama

Japan coach Yoshiro Moriyama feels the U-17 boys need more high intensity battles at home now in order to keep improving after they lost 3-5 on tie-breakers to England in a round of 16 tie of the FIFA World Cup here.

Japan, on Tuesday, crashed out of the competition after playing a goalless draw in the 90 minutes of normal time with Hinata Kida's shot from the spot being saved by England goalkeeper Curtis Anderson.

"What we tried was to play in our own style. Some things worked and some did not. England are a strong team. We felt we did have a chance to win and had a game plan. We need to improve on our technique, speed, determination on the pitch, accuracy and intensity. We need more battles with intensity within Japan," coach Moriyama told reporters after the pre-quarters tie at the Vivekananda Yuva Bharati Krirangan here on Tuesday.

Japan were very defensive in the first half thwarting England's forays into their territory while late in the second half the Asian heavyweights attacked and could have got a goal.

"I was very impressed by the players. They ran till the last minute. Now my two and a half years journey is over. We need to improve power for goal and accuracy. I want players to use this energy to develop themselves.

"The match was planned and we stuck to our plans. We wanted to defend well for the first half and bring pace little by little. We used the last 20 minutes for rhythm. We only lacked a goal," the coach said.

Moriyama added that they had a lot of leaders on the pitch, ruing not being able to score in the second period.

"There were several leaders and I could hear a lot of voices. In the first half there was a lot of pressure from England and our players played well. We had our share too in the second half but we could not hit the target," he added.

--IANS

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