The 2019 SheBelieves Cup featuring four of the top teams of the world started its action in USA on Wednesday 27 February. The Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women’s National Team) squared off against the USA Women’s National Team in their first match.

Facing the American side who ranks number one in the FIFA rankings, Coach TAKAKURA Asako named the national team debutantes KOBAYASHI Rikako and MATSUBARA Arisa in the starting line-up, while SUGITA Hina also made her first start after making her debut as a substitute against Australia last August.

The two sides have faced each other many times over the years and are well aware of each other’s tactics. It was USA who was the aggressor in this match to take the initiative, as a close opportunity came their way in the sixth minute, when a shot struck the goal post following a corner kick situation. USA continued to show their dominance as they penetrated the flanks and created chances by dribbling through the Japanese defence line. The opening goal came in the 23rd minute when Megan RAPINOE, who is UTSUGI Rumi’s teammate in Seattle, converted a cut back from the right side to shake the net. Despite conceding the lead, the Japanese players remained composed to showcase their persistency and kept the score intact to enter halftime.

The second half saw the Japanese side applying pressure effectively as they gradually picked up their pace to create opportunities. In the 54th minute, YOKOYAMA Kumi and Kobayashi combined with each other to enter the penalty area but failed to finish the play with a shot. The long-awaited moment for Japan came in the 67th minute, when HASEGAWA Yui delivered a long-feed towards NAKAJIMA Emi at the right side. Although Nakajima’s attempt to redirect the ball towards Yokoyama was blocked by the opposing defender, Nakajima recollected the ball and fired a left footed shot that found the corner of the goal to equalise the match.

However, USA retook the lead in the 76th minute when their captain Alex MORGAN converted a cross from the right side. In efforts to change the dynamics, Coach Takakura brought in MOMIKI Yuka and another national team debutante ENDO Jun into the match. This substitution proved to be effective as the two were involved in the equaliser scored in additional time. The play was initiated by another substitute, IKEJIRI Mayu who delivered the ball to Endo. The ball was then passed to Hasegawa who dribbled into the box before dishing the ball to Momiki who capitalised on the opportunity by striking the ball into the open net, giving Japan a 2-2 draw in their first match of the tournament.

Match details

The Japanese side will now travel to Nashville and face the Brazil Women's National Team, who suffered a come from behind loss to England. The match will take place on Saturday 2 March with a kick-off time of 13:00 local time (Sunday 3 March 4:00 Japan time), and the match will be broadcasted live on BS Fuji.

Coach and Players' Comments

TAKAKURA Asako, Coach of Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women’s National Team)
We played too passively in the first half and couldn’t create chances for ourselves, but our players did a great job to stay persistent and defend through the tough stretches. The fact that we managed to level the match twice is something we should be proud of. However, the overall performance was not so great, especially our build-ups plays. Even when we have won the ball, we repeatedly lost possession and endured counter-attacks, which made us play more passively. Although we should take this result positively, the match made us realise that we still have long ways to go.

MF #7 NAKAJIMA Emi (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
When Hasegawa delivered the ball to me, I was trying to redirect the ball to Yokoyama, but the pass was blocked by the opponent. The ball ended up coming back to me inside the box, so I decided to take a shot. There are still many things we need to work on. We only have three months ahead of the World Cup, so we will utilise each and every match in this tournament to make ourselves better.

MF #16 MATSUBARA Arisa (Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara)
I was very nervous, but my teammates kept me relaxed by communicating with me. In the second half, I got used to the opponents’ speed and managed to make turns and utilise the width of the field. That’s an aspect I feel like I was able to improve on. Even though this was my first ever start, I felt like I was able to cope with the world’s number one team. However, I still need to do a better job in expanding the field, taking shots, and receiving the ball more often in the final third. Those are some of the tasks I will take on to improve myself as a player.

FW #15 MOMIKI Yuka (Nippon TV Beleza)
In the scene where I scored the goal, I wanted to give Hasegawa more options, which will make it that much tougher for the opponents to defend. I also really wanted to score the goal to equalise the match, so I made the run with a strong intention to capitalise. This draw is another step forward for us, but with less than 100 days left ahead of the World Cup, we need to be able to win this kind of matches. We will try to do a better job of showcasing our style of football in our next match and earn a victory.

Schedule

*Local time
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

2019 SheBelieves Cup

Tournament Dates: Wed. 27 February – Tue. 5 March 2019
All 3 matches involving Japan will be broadcasted live on BS Fuji
Tournament Information