Teen Ayuyus give back

The CNMI’s Kaden Church, left, kicks the ball, while a Chelsea FC Soccer School Hong Kong player tries to deflect it during their game in the Inaugural Tuloy XO Cup in the Philippines last August. (Contributed Photo)

More than the competition, the CNMI U17 Men’s National Team considers the 2018 Marianas Cup as a way to give back to the people who are rallying behind the squad.

“We are taking this opportunity to return the favor to our supporters by showing our best football and making them proud. They’ve been always supportive of us so I would like to ask them to come and watch our match,” CNMI head coach Michiteru Mita told Saipan Tribune.

Mita’s wards will facing the Guam U17 Men’s National Team in the 7pm match in the Marianas Cup this Sunday at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville. When they duel Guam, the Teen Ayuyus coach will be relying on the combination of players who suited up for the CNMI in three off-island tournaments.

“We have 23 players now and they came from three groups,” the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association technical director said.

Mita is talking about the players who competed in the East Asian Football Federation U15 Boys Tournament in China in July, the Inaugural Tuloy XO Cup in the Philippines in August, and the EAFF E-1 Football Championships 2019 Round in Mongolia last month. The Teen Ayuyus earned one win (versus) Macau in the EAFF youth competition, while they ruled the Tuloy XO Cup. In Mongolia, the CNMI drew Macau and lost to Mongolia and Guam.

All these tournaments gave the Commonwealth players a better understanding on team play and toughen them, mentally.

“They learned that football is a team sport. If the team becomes one and collective, we can compete with big teams. Now, this Marianas Cup preparation is short, but we are trying to improve team chemistry to improve collective attacking and defense,” Mita said.

“We understand how important this special match is, so we’re also mentally prepared,” he added.

Mita believes a daunting task is ahead of the Teen Ayuyus, especially now that Guam’s youth program is getting more attention from its new coach—Karl Dodd.

“My impression on Guam is before they focused only on men’s team, but since they got the new Australian coach, they started to focus on youth national teams. They have better youth development structure and young players are improving,” the NMIFA technical director said.

“I watched some of their matches in the EAFF U15 in China, they have some players who are technically and physically good. It’s going to be a tough match for us, but we will try our best to show a good football game,” he added.