Pre-Match Report

Sao Jose v Arsenal Ladies - Preview

Alex Scott
Alex Scott

Pedro Martinez Losa and his players joined their Sao Jose counterparts for a press day on Friday to look ahead to the International Women’s Club Cup final.

Losa and captain Alex Scott took part in a press conference, with Jordan Nobbs also speaking to the Japanese media.

Some of their responses are below.

on the game…
PL: First of all, I would like to show my appreciation on behalf of the club for the fantastic hospitality we have received in Japan. About the game, we are preparing very well for the final. My expectation is that it will be a fantastic game of football. I expect two different styles, where my team will have the opportunity to show the quality that we have but also that we respect the opponent. I think we need to prepare very well and be concentrated if we want to bring the trophy back with us to England.

Arsenal Ladies line up against Okayama Yunogo Belle

Arsenal Ladies line up against Okayama Yunogo Belle

on the strengths of Arsenal Ladies…
AS: We’re looking forward to the game tomorrow. In terms of our strengths as a team, we have a lot of national team players so hopefully our experience will show. We have strong leadership with players like Casey Stoney in the heart of our defence. And we have young players like Jordan Nobbs, and we have a lot of pace up front. So I think our team has a very strong core. But we’re going to have to be at the top of our game in the final because we know we’re coming up against a good opponent and a very skilful team. Hopefully we can go into the game with the right mentality and come out with the result we want.

Casey Stoney in action against Okayama Yunogo Belle

Casey Stoney in action against Okayama Yunogo Belle

on the opposition…
AS: Both teams have come to Japan with the mentality that they want to win. We know they have skilful players like Formiga - a very talented, intelligent player who can control a game. So we’ll have to be careful of that. Like any Brazilian side, they can open you up at any point so we’re going to have to stay switched on and make sure we’re focused. The final’s going to be an attractive game for people to watch. We’ve talented players in both teams so it’s going to be entertaining, but hopefully one where we can try and control the possession and control the tempo. Our manager will set out a game plan for us. Hopefully we can execute that and come out as champions.

Shinobu Ohno struck twice in the semi-final

Shinobu Ohno struck twice in the semi-final

on the final…
JN: As a team we’re just excited to be in the final and I think we’ll show that on the pitch tomorrow. We’re very proud to have got to the final and we want to show what we can do. We’ve got to go in with aggression and the same mentality we showed in the semi-final. If we do that then we can come away with the win.

on how the Japan trip has benefited the young players…
JN: I think experiences like this Japan trip are crucial for our young players. [Coming here in 2011 for Ladies first Japan tour] it’s definitely made a difference for me and shown in my performances since I think. We’ve got a very young squad at the moment and we need them to gain experience against top players, like the ones in this tournament. Coming here will improve them as players I think - it certainly did me back in 2011. Hopefully we can come back in the future and those players can be some of the main leaders in our team.

Jordan Nobbs in action against Okayama Yunogo Belle

Jordan Nobbs in action against Okayama Yunogo Belle