EAFF - EAST ASIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION -

EAST ASIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION

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MATCH REPORT

Aug 9 sun, 2015 20:10 KICK OFF

CHINA PR

CHINA PR

1

1

1 - 1

0 - 0

WUHAN, CHINA

JAPAN

JAPAN

MATCH REVIEW

Unable to pack final punch, China PR was unable to secure tournament championship.

The 2015 EAFF East Asian Cup now in its final round, manager Alain Perrin used a 4-3-3 formation for attacking and 4-4-2 for defending. Whilst creating chances to attack Japan, team ace GAO LIN and goal scorer YU DABAO (scored against DPR Korea), along with swift wing WU LEI, worked actively to secure openings on the pitch.
On the other hand, Japan employed a 4-2-3-1 formation, raising side-back ENDO WATARU to the position of defensive midfielder, and debuting goalkeeper HIGASHIGUCHI MASAAKI and left and right side-backs YONEKURA KOKI and NIWA DAIKI for the national team. Japan displayed some diverse striking, centred on the relatively more dynamic USAMI TAKASHI (left wing).

In the 4th minute of the start of the game a loose ball from a corner kick was fired toward the goal by USAMI, hitting the crossbar.
The first team to capitalise on a chance, however, was China PR. In the 10th minute of the first half GAO LIN controlled the ball from a restart on the right, passing it to midfielder WU XI, who passed it on to WU LEI for a shot that skimmed the Japanese defence before find its way to the back of the opposition net.
Another long pass to WU LEI by China PR saw the forward free and unmanned. However, YONEKURA dashed back to pressure the player, with goalkeeper HIGASHIGUCHI then skilfully covering the goal and denying China PR a second goal.
After that close call, Japan saw its striking capability reawaken, the rhythm of the match shifting in Japan’s favour.

After some back-to-back chances a through pass by MAKINO TOMOAKI in the 41st minute found YONEKURA, who crossed the ball into the penalty area from the left. MUTO slid in to score the equaliser.
The torrential rain that had started to pour down on the game during the match forced both teams to attack behind each other’s defensive lines, leading to the development of an increasingly physical game that demanded the teams to hastily switch between offense and defence. China PR numbers 10 ZHENG ZHI and 9 YANG XU, playing on a mistake by the Japanese side, broke into the Japanese penalty area.
However, defender Makino provided Japan with the critical cover it needed, clearing the ball. Japan now sent its players away from the resilient defensive lines to the front, but was lacking in accuracy. A kick by SHIBASAKI GAKU was followed by an attempt by ENDO, who had rushed into the China PR half to score, which missed the mark.
Thus the game ended in a 1-1 draw. With four points, China PR came second to tournament champions Korea REP.
Japan, with a loss and two defeats, ended the tournament in fourth place.

STATS

GOAL
10' WU LEI
41' MUTO YUKI
REPLACEMENT
63' YU DABAO > YANG XU 9
69' WU XI > ZHENG ZHI 10
80' GAO LIN (C) > ZHANG CHIMING 20
61' KAWAMATA KENGO > KOHROGI SHINZOH 10
74' MUTO YUKI > SHIBASAKI GAKU 7
84' NAGAI KENSUKE > ASANO TAKUMA 19
BOOKED / SEND OFF
card_y 43' GAO LIN (C)
card_y 85' LIU JIANYE
68' USAMI TAKASHI card_y
77' MAKINO TOMOAKI card_y
LINEUPS
DF2REN HANGHIGASHIGUCHI MASAAKI1GK
DF6FENG XIAOTINGMAKINO TOMOAKI5DF
FW7WU LEIMORISHIGE MASATO (C)6DF
DF8CAI HUIKANGNAGAI KENSUKE9FW
DF13LIU JIANYEUSAMI TAKASHI11FW
DF14JI XIANGNIWA DAIKI15DF
MF15WU XIYAMAGUCHI HOTARU16MF
DF17RAO WEI HUIMUTO YUKI18MF
FW18GAO LIN (C)KAWAMATA KENGO20FW
FW22YU DABAOENDO WATARU21DF
GK23WANG DALEIYONEKURA KOKI22DF
SUBSTITUTES
GK1ZEN CHENGTANIGUCHI SHOGO2MF
DF3LEI TENG LONGOTA KOSUKE3DF
DF4WANG TONGMIZUMOTO HIROKI4DF
DF5YU YANGSHIBASAKI GAKU7MF
FW9YANG XUFUJITA NAOYUKI8MF
MF10ZHENG ZHIKOHROGI SHINZOH10FW
GK12YAN JUNLINGNISHIKAWA SHUSAKU12GK
MF16SUN KEKURATA SHU13FW
FW19LIU BINBINFUJIHARU HIROKI14DF
FW20ZHANG CHIMINGYONEMOTO TAKUJI17MF
ASANO TAKUMA19FW
ROKUTAN YUJI23GK