Match Review: German-Swiss All Stars vs FC Nippon

• GK Sam Wagner
• DF Norik Ghazaryan
• DF Peter Farfeleder
• DF Alex Baesel
• DF Nik Wolthuis
• DF Marius Merkel
• MD Hamza Ben Naceur Gharfane
• MD Luca Ritter
• MD Nick Hennies
• ST Julian Sander
• ST Diyar Mailepessov

• DF Erik Zenker
• MD Neal Beets
• MD Gullzar Khan
• MD Jonas Janecki
• ST Mark Addy

3pts for Nippon with 60min no-show by GSAS

GSAS and Nippon met on a warm afternoon with the Germans looking to continue their good start to season and Nippon searching for their first victory. It didn’t take long to see that Nippon the right attitude to achieve their aim. Kick off, long ball and Nippon already threatened to score. The first half was dominated by ball possession from Nippon and sleek and accurate passing. 2:0 for Nippon at half time was well deserved as GSAS did too little to create goal scoring opportunities. Despite different aspirations and a few changes, GSAS was not able to change much after halftime and 3:0 and 4:0 followed soon. Only then after 60min, GSAS discovered that proper spirit and attitude combined with better passing, chances can we created to change the goal. Though it was too little too late, a beauty long range shot dropping behind the keeper from Erik got GSAS in score sheet. Congrats to Nippon for a well deserved win.

• Takaki NAKAMURA GK
• Shota Adachi DF
• Yuki Ichikawa DF
• Shoya MIYASHITA MD
• Enrique Sanchez MD
• Seiji TACHIBANA MD
• Takuya Hagino ST
• Jun Nishiyama --
• Marcos Mata --
• Jo Kagitani --
• Seito Yachimoto --

• Shunsuke Shiraki DF
• Ryuhei IKEDA MD
• Ryusei Yoshida MD
• Mokchan Kim ST

First win of the season

The first half started with both sides pressing each other to take control of the match, but the Japanese team was able to take advantage of their strong passing game and dominate the midfield. From a corner kick, Ichi fired a strong header but could not find the target. Shoya's mid-range shot hit the post, and his dribble almost resulted in a penalty kick (a hand was suspected, but the referee did not sound the whistle). The goal came in the 10th minute of the first half. A pass was cut, and Jo broke through the defensive line, calmly put it into the side net after a one-on-one with the goalkeeper. 1-0 In the 20th minute of the first half, Japan got the ball in German's side again, and Kike exchanged passes with Jo and slipped in a goal. 2-0 Seiji had a chance to score the third goal soon after, but the goalkeeper made two excellent saves in a row. Seiji then won the ball on the right side, took it into the penalty area, and was brought down from behind, but no penalty kick was awarded, and he missed the chance to add a goal. Japan continued to dominate the first half, but were unable to score a third goal, and the first half ended with a two-goal lead. The second half began with Japan maintaining the same pace as the first half and taking the lead. Five minutes into the first half, Shoya entered the penalty area from the left side, was knocked down, and took a penalty kick. Shoya calmly scored the third goal. 3-0 In the 15th minute of the second half, Seiji broke down the right side of the field and sent in a great ground ball, which was met by Hagi in front of goal, but the goalkeeper made a super save to deny the fourth goal. German tried hard to get back into the game, but the Japanese defenders were too concentrated to create any decisive chances. Japan controlled the game by playing the ball comfortably at the back and avoiding pressure. In the 30th minute of the second half, a corner kick was spilled and it looked as if it might go in, but a shot by German failed to find the target and the goal was averted. Soon after, Ryusei received the ball on the left side, cut into the penalty area, left two defenders stranded, and scored a wonderful looping shot to give the Japanese a four-goal lead. 4-0 In the 35th minute of the second half, a cross from the right side was mis-kicked and unfortunately turned into a brilliant long shot that was sucked into the goal, giving Japan their first goal of the match. 4-1. But Japan kept their composure and continued to dominate the game, beating off a last-ditch effort by German and ending the match as it ended.