On a sunny day, September 2, the Japanese soccer team began its first preparations for two hard-fought matches in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers - against China and Bahrain - at its training base in Chiba City.
A total of 16 players took part in the training session. Among them, six players who play in the domestic league sweated it out on the outdoor field: Keisuke, Kosei, Yuto, Nakayama, Henry Kaikai and Hosoya. Kawasaki Striker's young defender Yukio Takai, on the other hand, was indoors with the European players, doing recovery training. It is worth noting that Yuto laughed and joked with former teammate and now national team assistant coach Makoto Hasebe in between training sessions, and the two also practiced tacit pass-catch.
The schedule is tight, with Japan set to face China at the Saitama 2002 World Cup Stadium at 18:35 BST on the evening of September 5th, followed by a road trip to face Bahrain on the 10th.
