Four Teams Reach Semi-Finals of Japan's National Junior High Football Championship
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Four junior high school football teams have reached the semi-finals of Japan's national junior high school championship. The teams are Shizuoka Gakuen, Seibo Gakuen, Kamimura Gakuen, and Kyoto Seika Gakuen.
The semi-final matches will take place on the 21st. Shizuoka Gakuen will play against Seibo Gakuen, while Kamimura Gakuen will face Kyoto Seika Gakuen.
Each team now needs just two more wins to become national champions. Winning the semi-final would send a team to the final, the last step to the title.
One player who has attracted attention is Aoto Higashiguchi, the goalkeeper for Kamimura Gakuen. In his team's earlier match, he made a series of impressive saves.
His performance was so strong that even the opposing team's coach was reportedly amazed by his skill.
Aoto has a special connection to football. His father is a professional goalkeeper who plays for Gamba Osaka, a well-known Japanese club.
Talking about his father, Aoto said he must play at his very best level, adding that he cannot beat his father otherwise. He also said his final goal is to one day surpass his father as a player.
The remaining teams will now prepare for their semi-final matches, with the winners moving on to compete for the national junior high school football title.
Vocabulary10 words
- semi-final
- a match before the very last, final match
- national champions
- the best team in the whole country
- goalkeeper
- the player who stops the ball from going into the goal
- coach
- the person who trains and leads a sports team
- club
- an organized sports team, often with a home city
- save
- a successful action stopping a shot at goal
- surpass
- to become better than someone else
- title
- the position of being the winner or champion
- opposing team
- the other team you are playing against
- performance
- how well someone plays or does something
Quiz
Answer key
1. Four 2. Win two more matches 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Four junior high school football teams have reached the _____ of Japan's national junior high school championship.
The teams are Shizuoka Gakuen, Seibo Gakuen, Kamimura Gakuen, and Kyoto Seika Gakuen.
The semi-final matches will take place on the 21st.
Each team now needs just two more wins to become _____.
One player who has attracted attention is Aoto Higashiguchi, the _____ for Kamimura Gakuen.
In his team's earlier match, he made a series of impressive _____.
His performance was so strong that even the opposing team's _____ was reportedly amazed by his skill.
His father is a professional goalkeeper who plays for Gamba Osaka, a well-known Japanese _____.
Aoto said he must play at his very best level, adding that he cannot beat his father otherwise.
He also said his final goal is to one day _____ his father as a player.