From September 27 to October 2, the Ukraine beach soccer team was in Japan at the invitation of the local football association. On Okura Beach Park in Akashi on the 1st and 2nd, the blue-and-yellow team played two friendly matches with the Japanese national team. In the first match, the Ukrainians lost with a score of 2:4, while in the second they lost again — 3:6. The head coach of Ukraine's national team, Mykola Kostenko, summed up their visit to Japan.

"The trip to Japan was invaluable for us. This is especially important considering our upcoming participation in the World Beach Games on Bali next year. Japan is almost in the same time zone as Indonesia. For many of the boys and me included, this was their first such journey. We even spoke with experts about how to adapt to unusual conditions. But it's impossible to compare that with personal experience. It was physically challenging. In addition — a very long flight, so we never fully adjusted and played not in our best physical condition.

In Japan, we trained twice a day. There were no heavy loads, but we worked well on tactical-technical interaction. Quarantine measures are in place in the country, so our options were limited — either stay in the hotel or train. Of course, we chose training.

In the friendly matches with the Japanese, all players — both young and experienced — participated. The workload was evenly distributed, although only seasoned fighters played in the third periods. In the first match, there was a tie at 2:2 before the final 12-minute period, and we had several unused opportunities, but unfortunately, we conceded two unnecessary goals at the end.

In the second match, we started poorly, conceding three times, but then calmed down and even turned the game around, reducing Japan's lead to one goal. But in the third period, there was a slight lack of concentration.

Overall, we are 100% satisfied with this trip. We played against a very strong team, one of the best in the world. We saw their preparation methods and communicated with representatives of the Japanese football federation. Fans in Japan paid great attention to our matches. There were 900 spectators at the first match and 1200 at the second. Many were also Ukrainian expatriates. Almost 1500 of our compatriots live only in Kobe city. The attitude towards Ukraine is very good. We were welcomed warmly, even a tour of Tokyo was arranged despite quarantine measures. They constantly helped us — balls, equipment... Apart from the results, we are completely satisfied with the trip," — said Mykola Kostenko.