Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe drew gasps from a crowd of thousands in Tokyo on Monday as Paris Saint-Germain held the first training session of their Japanese tour. About 13,000 fans turned up at Tokyo’s Chichibunomiya rugby ground to watch an open session and were treated to an hour and a half of tricks and flicks from PSG’s star attacking trio. The crowd erupted in cheers as the team trotted out to jog around the pitch and the players’ every touch was greeted with loud squeals. Security guards were even called into action when several fans invaded the pitch once the session was over.🇯🇵🔛 #PSGJapanTour2022 – Training with kids, meet & greet and interviews! pic.twitter.com/gXQOfbzEjr— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) July 18, 2022 Masayuki Yoshizawa, a 38-year-old office worker who arrived at the stadium wearing a 1990s-era PSG shirt, told AFP he was looking forward to watching star striker Mbappe.”Ligue 1 teams don’t usually come to Japan — they usually go to China. It’s great that they have come here after the pandemic — I think it might be the first and last time” he said, adding that he had been a fan of PSG since Brazilian Leonardo joined them from Japanese club Kashima Antlers in 1996.🔛 Follow our open training session in Tokyo 👉 https://t.co/FDYaHSu0Kp#PSGJapanTour2022 pic.twitter.com/NdbO9B2U5U— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) July 18, 2022 PSG will play three local teams during their 10-day visit to Japan, starting with Wednesday’s game against J-League champions Kawasaki Frontale at Tokyo’s National Stadium.They will also play Urawa Reds in Saitama on July 23 and Gamba Osaka in Osaka on July 25. PSG held a football clinic for children in Tokyo on Monday morning, with Sergio Ramos and Marquinhos joining Mbappe, Neymar and Messi on the pitch.(2.95) DINAMO KYIV (3.30) FENERBAHCE (2.45)Some of the children asked the players questions after the session had finished, with one asking Messi what skills it was important to learn as a child.”First of all, the most important thing at that age is to enjoy yourself. Of course, it’s good to practise and work hard to improve your skills, but it’s important to have fun.” said the Argentine.© Agence France-Presse
