Dream Training : The Champions

"Excellent! A genius free-kick by Kazuki. He managed to trick the Australian national team and score the first goal for Japan in this match."

"This was a brilliant action from Kazuki. I'm sure the Australian players had learned how Kazuki's free kicks were often taken, but Kazuki took the free-kick with something different. He waited for the Australian players to jump before Kazuki kicked the ball firmly and flat. 1-0 for Japan's advantage," Shimura gave his analysis. He clapped his hands to appreciate Kazuki's genius action.

On the sidelines, Fernandes Costa seemed to be shaking his head, he didn't expect Japan to score with a free-kick. He immediately stood up from the bench and shouted and gave encouragement to the Australian national team.

The match continued, the Australian national team players kick-off for the second time. As soon as they kicked off, Australia launched a swift attack. Bresciano gave the ball back to Australian center-back Wilkinson. Okazaki put pressure on Wilkinson, while Kazuki closed Wilkinson's pass option to Ryan McGowan.

Here, they were fooled, Wilkinson was a defender who also has the ability to dribble, so he passed Okazaki who puts pressure on him. Wilkinson then dribbled the ball quickly, while the other Australian players also ran to attack. Keisuke Honda had tried to knock Wilkinson down, but he failed. Instead, Keisuke Honda himself tripped and fell. The referee did not blow the whistle because Wilkinson did not commit a foul.

Wilkinson gave the ball to Bresciano who was in a free position. Meanwhile, Bresciano who received the ball immediately sent a through ball to the left. Mathew Leckie tried to receive the ball, but Uchida ran so fast and grabbed the ball before Leckie then he threw the ball off the field. Throw-in for Australia.

McKay threw the ball to Leckie. The Australian left-winger caught Uchida's body, who tried to steal the ball from him. Then, Leckie gave the ball to Bresciano. Yamaguchi made a body charge on Bresciano, so the Australian attacking midfielder lost his balance, but he still managed to provide a pass to Jedinak.

Jedinak then poked the ball forward. Cahill had a physical confrontation with Konno, but he was still able to make a volley shoot toward the goalpost that was guarded by Kawashima. Kawashima managed to block the shot, but the ball bounced over the net. A corner-kick for Australia.

Jedinak sent a signal to the Australian players, who gathered in the Japan national team penalty box. The referee then blew the whistle. Jedinak kicked the ball hard. The ball floated towards the far post. Bresciano managed to escape from Yoshida's guard, he then headed the ball. But the ball hit the post and was thrown out of the box.

Wilkinson managed to receive the rebound ball, then gave a hard shot from outside the penalty box. Fortunately, the kick missed the goalpost so it only resulted in a goal kick for Kawashima. Even though the attack was failed, it served as a warning to the Japanese defense.

The pressing system managed by the Japanese clearly failed when Wilkinson could shake Okazaki. The system then failed again when Keisuke Honda failed to bring down Wilkinson. The Australian defender turned out to be a big surprise for the Japanese national team. This makes Japan had to be careful in pressing.

Time began to run, Japan found it difficult to control the ball. The Australian national team began to dare press the Japanese players who were holding the ball. In the mid-line, the three midfielders of the Japanese national team struggled to maintain control of the ball. Forward players such as Kazuki, Kagawa, and Okazaki also came down to help Japan in controlling the ball.

The help was really felt, so that in the 27th minute, Japan got another chance. It began with Kagawa movement, which managed to deceive McKay. Then, Keisuke Honda appeared beside Kagawa as a pass option.

Kagawa gave the ball to Keisuke Honda, soon after that, Keisuke immediately provided a through ball to Kagawa. Kagawa managed to break through into the penalty box thanks to Keisuke Honda's help. Spiranovic tried to block Kagawa's path, but the Dortmund man pulled the ball back and turned around his body, then flicked the ball to the left.

Okazaki bounced the ball forward, Kazuki then appeared from the gap between the players and kicked the ball. Fortunately, Mathew Ryan still had time to use his feet to block Kazuki's kick. The ball bounced forward and Wilkinson immediately threw the ball off the field.

In the 32nd minute, the Australian national team got a very beautiful opportunity. Kagawa who failed to break through Spiranovic made the ball at his feet move to Spiranovic's feet. The Australian center-back then provided a pass forward.

McKay flicked the ball into the air and then kicked the ball hard. The ball slid far forward, over the line of the Japanese defender. Tommy Oar who was in an onside position immediately ran towards the ball. Nagamoto was far behind because he had overlapped before. Konno was forced to replace Nagamoto's task in stopping Tommy Oar.

However, Konno's speed was far behind Tommy's so the Australian managed to grab the ball first, then he pushed the ball diagonally into the middle. Team Cahill collided with Yoshida's speed. The Everton player managed to grab the ball first, but Yoshida managed to push Tim Cahill to move slightly to the left so that his position was not ideal for releasing a shoot. Cahill was forced to provide a pass to Bresciano. Bresciano, who was not guarded by Japanese defenders, immediately dribbled the ball into the penalty box.

He faced one on one with the Japanese national team goalkeeper, Kawashima. Bresciano flicked the ball into the corner, however, Kawashima jumped and managed to parry the ball. After successfully brushing the ball away, Kawashima immediately swung his arms excitedly while roaring. Yoshida and Konno hugged the Japanese national team goalkeeper and gave him praise.

"Great save from Kawashima. He managed to stop a shot from Bresciano. Australia was unlucky this time. Kawashima's performance seems to be in good form. Japan managed to hold the score 1-0 until 33 minutes. There are still plenty of chances for both teams to change scores and circumstances."

Hoshino shouted excitedly. The Australian attack had made the audience on television also thumping. They were very nervous to see Australia getting such a good opportunity. Luckily, Kawashima performed well.

Both teams attacked each other tirelessly. Japan, which usually dominates possession, Now having a hard time doing it with the pressing provided by Australia. They also often penetrated the fullback sector because the two fullbacks often overlap to help Japan in carrying out attacks.. Although many opportunities were created but until the end of the first half, both teams still maintained the score of 1-0.