Ahead of their campaign for the U21 European Championship the English team played a warm up game against their counterparts from Japan, who were using the game as part of their tune up for the Asian youth tournament.
England were beaten 2-0 despite boasting of avalanche of big names like Emile Smith-Rowe of Arsenal, Harvey Elliot of Liverpool, Noni Madueke of Chelsea, Olivier Skipp of Tottenham Hotspur, Anthony Gordon of Newcastle United, Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest among others
Rihito Yamamoto and Yuta Matsumura got the goals that gave the Japanese the win but at the heart of their display was a certain Joel Chima Fujita, who made mincemeat of the English team with his mesmerizing display in midfield.
So good was his display that he was asked about how he felt like bossing players who play for top English teams. “I was excited to hear that a Tottenham midfielder (Oliver Skipp) was going to play, but then I saw that it wasn’t all that. The opponent showed skill, but the one I thought played well was at most Liverpool’s Elliott. Smith Rowe looked like he didn’t even take the field”, he said.
The 21 year old who plays for top division Japanese side Yokohama F. Marinos is seen as one of the future stars of the senior national team of Japan. As he has progressed from the U17 to the U22 with the senior national team the next in his sight.
A look at his rise took us back to 2019 when the U17 team of Nigeria were beaten 1-0 by Japan in a friendly game ahead of the World Cup. Fujita was at the heart of the midfield for Japan and after the game told the Nigerian handlers that his father is a Nigerian.
He repeated the same words after the test game against England. ” I am Japanese but with a Nigerian father, maybe that is why I am blessed with physical and technical abilities”, the captain of the U22 team of Japan said.
Osas Mahawi
