On Thursday 25 July (local time), Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team) played their first match at the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (Paris 2024) against the world number one ranked Spain Women's National Team at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, France.

Japan opted for a 4-4-2 formation with YAMASHITA Ayaka (INAC Kobe Leonessa) in goal and a back line consisting of SHIMIZU Risa (West Ham United), MINAMI Moeka (AS Roma), KUMAGAI Saki (AS Roma) and KOGA Toko (Feyenoord). HASEGAWA Yui (Manchester City) and NAGANO Fuka (Liverpool FC) played as holding midfielders, while SEIKE Kiko (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies) and MIYAZAWA Hinata (Manchester United) were deployed on the flanks. FUJINO Aoba (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza) and TANAKA Mina (Utah Royals) were the two strikers up front.

The match began with Japan applying aggressive pressure in a bid to take the initiative from the outset, which resulted in a narrow chance in the second minute when Miyazawa intercepted an errant pass from their opponents and sent the ball through to Tanaka, whose through ball allowed Fujino to fire a left-footed shot that was denied by the goalkeeper.

The opening goal came in the 13th minute when Tanaka won a free-kick just outside the area and Fujino unleashed a thunderous right-foot shot that found the top corner to give Japan the lead.

But the reigning FIFA Women's World Cup™ champions responded swiftly to equalise in the 22nd minute, building their attack with short passes until they found a gap in the Japanese defence. Athenea DEL CASTILLO delivered the final pass and Aitana BONMATI calmly slotted the ball past the Japanese goalkeeper.

HAMANO Maika (Chelsea) was introduced at the start of the second half as Japan switched to a 5-4-1 formation. After creating a few chances, Japan were forced to make a change when Shimizu went off injured in the 68th minute, with TAKAHASHI Hana (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies) coming on at centre-back and Koga moving to right-back.

With Japan struggling to gain momentum, it was Spain who scored the next goal in the 74th minute when Mariona CALDENTEY played a pass and go with Bonmati to break into the Japanese penalty area before curling a shot into the far corner of the net.

Coach Futoshi Ikeda brought on CHIBA Remina (Eintracht Frankfurt) in the 80th minute and MORIYA Miyabi (INAC Kobe Leonessa) in the 90th minute in a last-ditch bid for an equaliser, but Japan went down 1-2 in their opening match of the tournament.

The team will now travel to Paris for the second group stage match against Brazil Women's National Team at Parc des Princes in Paris on Sunday 28 July (local time).

Coach and Players' Comments

IKEDA Futoshi, Head Coach of Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team)
Against the world's top-ranked team, Spain, we fielded a back four to ensure we had the optimum number of players in midfield, and in attack we aimed to gain a numerical advantage on the flanks. There were times when they dominated us in ball possession, but I thought we did well up to the point where we scored the opening goal from a set-piece. But they were just stronger than us. They found ways around our pressure to take the initiative and we couldn't stop them. It is disappointing that we didn't get a single point in the first match, but we will prepare ourselves to make up for it in the second and third matches.

DF #4 KUMAGAI Saki (AS Roma/Italy)
We needed to get at least a point from this game, but now that it is over we just have to accept the result and move on. The tournament has just started, and our next game is just around the corner, so we need to do our best to prepare for it. In the first half, there were instances when we struggled to gain control of the ball from the opposition's central midfielders. This presented a challenge for our midfielders to get forward, so in the second half, we implemented a back-five formation, or more specifically, a back-three formation, to address this issue. Obviously there were things we did well, and I didn't think we gave them too many chances, but they made the most of the chances they did get. It is really disappointing, but we just have to use this experience to do better next time.

MF #14 HASEGAWA Yui (Manchester City/England)
After the first half, the players pointed out that the formation we were playing wasn't working, so in the second half we switched to a back-five formation to allow our centre backs to pressurise the opposition central midfielders, but it wasn't enough to stop them. We defended well in the first 20 minutes of the second half. But the fact that we conceded a goal from a play in which we allowed a player to dribble through us to create a chance when we had the numerical advantage was certainly regrettable. We didn't mind letting them have the ball, but we gave them a bit too much space in the middle. The only real chance we gave away was the second goal we conceded, so this is a very disappointing result, but we just need to get our minds right for the next game.

MF #15 FUJINO Aoba (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza)
Personally, I am happy that I was able to get results. I wasn't very confident in my ability to score from a free-kick from the right side, and I didn't feel too good about it after training the day before. However, considering how I felt at the moment, where the wall was and the stage of the game, Hasegawa suggested that it might be worth taking a chance. I wanted to take a shot, so I was really happy when it went in. Defensively there were a lot of areas where I thought I did well, but I regret that I did not close down the space more when we conceded the first goal. I also gave the ball away too often in our transition between defence and offence. I think it is good that we get to play every three days. We will try to get our minds right and communicate well so that we can prepare well in the short time we have.

Games of the XXXIII Olympiad/XVII Paralympic Games (Paris 2024)

Football Tournament: Thu. 25 July - Sat. 7 September 2024
Tournament information