Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bogor: Japan head coach Masanaga Kageyama has urged his players to move on from the joy of securing FIFA U-20 World Cup qualification and focus on defeating Saudi Arabia in Thursday's AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 semi-final.
The Japanese class of 2018 showed tremendous maturity to defy Indonesia in front of 60,000 fans at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Sunday, but while Kageyama has been delighted with his side's output thus far, he says there is still work to be done.
"Even though we have qualified for the World Cup next year, we should focus on winning the match against Saudi Arabia tomorrow," said the 51-year-old, who has also had stints in Macau and Singapore.
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Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bogor: Head coach Chung Jung-yong has urged Korea Republic to take a confident approach into Thursday’s eagerly anticipated AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 semi-final against Qatar on Thursday.
Chung’s talented charges are set to face the West Asians after topping Group C and then seeing off Tajikistan in the quarter-finals – a win which guaranteed them a place at next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup.
With Korea Republic’s initial target already achieved, Chung is hoping for even greater things from his side as they continue their hunt for what would be a 13th AFC U-19 Championship title.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bekasi: Saudi Arabia are happy to have reached the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 semi-finals but they won't be completely satisfied until they've won the tournament, according to budding star Turki Al Ammar.
Monday's 3-1 quarter-final win over Australia secured not only a place in the final four, but a return to the FIFA U-20 World Cup, with Al Ammar again playing a starring role.
The mercurial Saudi number 10 revealed his satisfaction at the achievement, but insisted the Saudis are not done yet.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Bekasi: Saudi Arabia head coach Khalid Abdullah Atawi has declared there is no limit to what his team is capable of after they secured a place in the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 semi-finals, and FIFA U-20 World Cup qualification, with a 3-1 win against Australia on Monday.
The 41-year-old rated the performance as Saudi Arabia's best in the competition so far, and revealed his belief that there is more to come.
"We are trying to do our best in every game," he said. "In any game, we want to do more than the game before.
"In this competition, the team is improving from game to game, so we are looking forward to achieving the highest level we can. The sky is our limit."
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jakarta: Head coach Bruno Pinheiro has declared that Qatar’s next target is to reach the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 final after Sunday’s entertaining 7-3 extra-time win over Thailand saw them progress to the competition’s last four.
An incredible game saw the West Asians take a 2-0 lead, before being forced to rely on Ahmed Suhail’s 87th minute equaliser to take the game into extra-time. Four further goals in the additional half an hour subsequently saw the 2014 champions edge closer to a Continental title showdown and, in the process, seal a place at next year’s FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Whilst delighted with Qatar’s World Cup spot at Poland in 2019, Pinheiro is already eyeing more success for his talented young charges – starting with the semi-final clash against either Korea Republic or Tajikistan.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jakarta: Japan's head coach Masanaga Kageyama revealed his satisfaction after watching his players defy 60,000 fans and a torrential downpour to defeat host nation Indonesia 2-0 in the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium on Sunday.
Kageyama's young charges walked into a cauldron of Indonesian support but emerged victorious to seal a place in the AFC U-19 Championship Indonesia 2018 semi-finals as well as the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.
Reflecting on their achievement after the match, Kageyama said there were a number of pleasing elements in Japan's win.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jakarta: Shunki Higashi has labelled his opening goal against Indonesia the best of his budding career, after his stunning long-range strike helped Japan to a 2-0 AFC U-19 Championship quarter-final win over hosts Indonesia.
With the Indonesians defending in numbers, there seemed no clear path to goal for Japan in the opening 40 minutes of the match, but that all changed when Higashi sent a 35-yard rocket into the top right corner of Muhamad Riyandi's net.
The Sanfrecce Hiroshima youngster, 18, reflected on the memorable goal, declaring it the best of his career, for now.