In order to qualify for the World Youth Tournament (for players under 19 years of age), Japan had to compete in the Asian Tournament. This qualifying tournament consisted of:

• A group stage, with the winners of each group advancing to the final tournament.
• A final tournament, with two groups of 5 teams, two of each advancing to the semifinals, and the winners of the semifinals playing the final and qualifying for the World Youth Tournament.

RESULTS AND STANDINGS:

first stage

For the first stage, Japan won the competition in Group D. All the matches of this group took place in Japan, so our heroes had the advantage of playing at home:

Legend: P – Games Played, W – Games Won, D – Games Drawn, L – Games Lost, F – Goals For (scored), A – Goals Against (received), GD – Goal Difference, Pts – Points (3 per win, 1 per draw).

final tournament

For the second stage, that took place in Indonesia, Japan finished first in Group B, with Saudi Arabia finishing second. In the other group (A), South Korea finished first and Irak in second place. In the knockout phase Japan  won against Irak in the semifinals and against South Korea in the final. Here you have the results of the final Asian Tournament:

PLAYERS DATA (final tournament only):

Best Player of the Tournament: Tsubasa Ozora (Japan).

Top Scorer: Kojiro Hyuga (Japan).

Best goalkeeper: Ken Wakashimazu (Japan).

Best defender: Mark Owairan (Saudi Arabia).

Best midfielder: Tsubasa Ozora (Japan).

Best forward: Kojiro Hyuga (Japan).

In this link you have access to the stats of every player that participated in this the Asian Qualification Tournament for the World Youth.