Early in the game, Tokyo Verdy conceded a goal after Taiki Hirato scored a wonderful goal. Machida Zelvia, the opponents of Tokyo Verdy, took advantage of this early goal and focused on defence in the rest of the game. Shion Inoue was very important for Tokyo Verdy as he created a lot of danger. However, Tokyo Verdy lacked quality in the final third to equalize. When Kanya Fujimoto got subbed on, the game changed and he eventually scored the equalizer late in the game.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Joel Chima Fujita
Player Profile
- Nationality: Japanese
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 16/02/2002
- Current Club: Tokyo Verdy
- Career: Tokyo Verdy (Y)
- Position: Defensive Midfielder
- Secondary Position: Central Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
The young midfielder who participated to the U17 World Cup got his second start with Tokyo Verdy. He played as a holding Midfielder, in a midfield of two players.
With his team dominating a big part of the first half, his position offered a support to the defence, covering the movement of his partner of the midfield who has more freedom to organize the attack. He moved between the lines well and always provided opened up a passing lane for the central defenders. Fujita also was capable of dropping deeper to play as a third central defender to outnumber the opponent and create space for the wide central defenders to dribble it out from the back.
With the ball, he kept it simple. He did not try to take many risks to be able to keep the possession to minimize the chances of the opponent to hit Tokyo Verdy on the counter. He mostly played horizontal passes but when he had space and time to play vertically, he did it. The opponent did not put high pressure on him which allowed him to take his time. This improved his passing accuracy as well. He did not fear to use his weak foot when playing passes. In a match where his team dominated possession, he should have done more in the attacking phase of play, which was a problem that occurred during the first half. In the first half, his main role was to offer a support to the defence but it’s after the entrance of Kanya Fujimoto in the second half that Joel Chima Fujita showed more presence in a higher position. He took more responsibility, driving the ball forward and offering a solution to combine in a higher position.
He could sometimes make some error in his passing game, losing the ball in situation where the danger was minimal. At least, when he made an error, he recovers the ball to not expose his team.
Rating: A2
Shion Inoue
Player Profile
- Nationality: Japanese
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 03/08/1997
- Current Club: Tokyo Verdy
- Career: Tokyo Verdy (Y)
- Position: Central Midfielder
- Secondary Position: Defensive Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
Shion Inoue joined Joel Chima Fujita in midfield, in a game where Tokyo Verdy dominated possession during the majority of the game. Inoue focused more on the build-up play, while Joel Chima Fujita focused more on the defensive contribution.
Tokyo Verdy showed difficulties creating danger on the opposition half in the first half. Inoue played a huge part in the most dangerous moments of Tokyo Verdy in the first half. In the first moment, he found Junki Koike with a very good pass that broke lines which allowed Koike to get into a good position to shoot, but he needed too much time and the chance was wasted. In the second moment, he received the ball after combining with a teammate and he carried the ball forward before getting into space to fire a shot towards goal. He occasionally succeeded to accelerate the play. Inoue has a low centre of gravity which allows him to dribble past his opponent, he is able to hold the ball well and he is capable of finding good positions to be able to receive the ball in space. Inoue took responsibility in the game and tried to find his teammates in space to create danger.
Rating: B1
Kanya Fujimoto
Player Profile
- Nationality: Japanese
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 01/07/1999
- Current Club: Tokyo Verdy
- Career: Tokyo Verdy (Y)
- Position: Right Attacking Midfielder
- Secondary Position: Right Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Left
Kanya Fujimoto came into the game at the beginning of the second half. Before his entrance, the team showed difficulties holding the ball in higher positions and creating danger in front of the opponents goal. He came on as a right attacking midfielder and was the main man in attack for Tokyo Verdy.
From the right wing, Fujimoto was allowed to cut inside and use his good left foot to create danger in front of the opponents goal. His game intelligence helps him to move into the half-space to get into a more dangerous position. Fujimoto can use his good technical ability to link up with his teammates in the tight spaces and hold the bal in a higher position. His positioning between the lines offer a direct solution in the build up play of Tokyo Verdy to initiate attacks. When he received the ball in the half-space, he had the ability to create a lot of danger. A few minutes after his entrance, he was at the start of a counter-attack which could have been a goal. In the last few minutes, he managed to win a penalty which he converted quite easily.
Rating: A1
Target Scouting 