The final and third place match of the JFA 23rd U-18 Japan Women's Football Championship took place on Tuesday 7 January.

3rd Place Match

Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Youth (Kanto/Saitama) 4-0 (2-0, 2-0) Solfiore FC (Chugoku/Okayama)

The third place match was played between Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Youth and Solfiore FC. As coach KATSURAGI Yasuko mentioned “Our strengths lie on our ability to apply pressure from the frontline and our endurance,” the Okayama side applied aggressive pressure to keep the Urawa offence from moving the ball around in the early minutes.

However, the deadlock was broken in the 34th minute, when Urawa’s IDO Keito delivered the final pass to FUKUDA Riko who scored the opening goal. Three minutes later, SHIMADA Mei connected with a corner kick to double the Urawa lead before halftime.

The second half saw Solfiore create opportunities, as a close chance was created by OZAKI Megumi and TSUTSUI Ayana in the 57th minute, but their efforts fell short from scoring a goal.

Although they were forced to make changes to their line-up due to injury and fatigue, Urawa managed to keep their clean sheet intact. With Shimada and NISHIO Hanon each scoring a goal in the 70th and 73rd minute respectively, the Urawa side claimed the third place medal with a 4-0 victory.

Final

JEF United Chiba Ladies U-18 (Kanto/Chiba) 2-1 (0-0, 2-1) Nippon TV Menina (Kanto/Tokyo)

The tournament final was fought between the defending champions Nippon TV Menina and JEF United Chiba Ladies U-18, who won the title two years ago. With this being their sixth time facing each other this season, Chiba’s coach MIKAMI Shoko mentioned, “We knew they were a tough opponent,” and reflected on the match, “Both teams started off the match rather passively to test the waters.”

After the first half ended scoreless, the deadlock was broken in the 50th minute, when Chiba’s OSAWA Haruka forced a turnover deep in the Nippon TV territory and scored the opening goal. This goal was the first goal conceded by Nippon TV at this tournament.

The defending champions responded in the 62nd minute, when KIMURA Sana intercepted the ball to initiate an attack that led to YAMAMOTO Yuzuki’s equaliser.

However, just five minutes later, Chiba’s KITAMURA Miu fired powerful shot from distance to retake the lead. Despite the final efforts made by Nippon TV, JEF United Chiba managed to hold onto their lead to claim their second national title.

Coach and Players' Comments

TAKAHASHI Minori (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies Youth)
Although we suffered a very disappointing loss at the semi-final, our players showed great improvements by scoring back goals when we were behind. We managed to reset our minds ahead of the third place match and played with great intensity. Despite the rainy weather, many people came out to support us and because of their support, we were able to fight through the season and finish on a high note. Thank you very much.

OZAKI Megumi (Solfiore FC)
After losing at the semi-finals, we really wanted to win this match. Our friends from Okayama Sakuyo High School came out to support us for the semi-final and the third place match, and we wanted to play in behalf of everyone supporting us and the teams we won against, but it is very disappointing that we couldn’t earn a positive result. This was our first time playing in this tournament and we were able to face many teams we normally don’t get to play against. We faced teams with greater skills and wider perspective on the pitch, and it gave us a great learning experience. We hope to feed off of this experience to become a better team.

ITO Nanami (JEF United Chiba Ladies U-18)
We knew we were facing a very good team, so we entered the match with a strong determination to keep our intensity high in defence. I feel like our team managed to keep our focus until the very end. I would like to thank our coaches, supporters, and our family for all of their support over the years. I am also full of gratitude towards my teammates for their support on and off the pitch. Because of them, we were able to win this title, and I feel very fortunate to have such wonderful teammates.

FURUKAWA Masahiro, Coach (Nippon TV Menina)
With this being the final, we might have played too passively in the early minutes. Despite taking control of the ball possession in the first half, we weren’t able to take the initiative of the match. Instead of responding to our opponents, we must become able to initiate the action on our own terms. Although we managed to score the equaliser after conceding the opening goal, we didn’t show enough aggression throughout the match, especially in the attacking third. However, we were never dominated by our opponents and our players maintained great concentration to showcase a solid defence throughout the tournament, so I am proud of our overall performance at this tournament.

JFA 23rd U-18 Japan Women's Football Championship

Tournament Dates: Fri. 3 – Tue. 7 January 2020
Tournament Venue: J-GREEN Sakai, Osaka

Tournament Information