AFC Women's Futsal Championship Thailand 2018
Quarterfinal vs Uzbekistan Women's Futsal National Team
Wed. 9 May 15:00 Kick-off Playing Time 40mins. (20mins.x2)
Indoor Stadium Hua Mak (Bangkok, Thailand)

Japan Women's Futsal National Team 5-1 (1-0, 4-1) Uzbekistan Women's Futsal National Team

Scores
15' AMISHIRO Anna (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
21' EGAWA Ryo (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
26' TAKEMURA Junko (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
28' NAKAJIMA Shiori (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
33' YOTSUI Saki (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
36' Goal against (Uzbekistan Women's Futsal National Team)

Starting Line-ups
GK: YAMAMOTO Ayaka
FP: AMISHIRO Anna, TAKEMURA Junko, EGAWA Ryo, FUJITA Mio

Reserves
GK: SUGIYAMA Aiko
FP: KOMURA Misato, WAKABAYASHI Eri, NAKAJIMA Shiori, KATO Masami, KATSUMATA Riho, EGUCHI Mika, YOTSUI Saki, CHIDA Hinako

Match Report

On Wednesday 9 May, the Japan Women's Futsal National Team faced Uzbekistan Women's Futsal National Team at Indoor Stadium Hua Mak in their quarterfinal match of the AFC Women's Futsal Championship Thailand 2018.

The match started off with Japan taking the early initiative, but their early chance were denied by the brilliant saves made by the Uzbek goalkeeper. Japan struggled to find the net, but the opening goal came in the 15th minute, when AMISHIRO Anna, who has been named the match MVP in the previous two matches, shook the net with her shot from the left side.

After entering halftime with a goal lead, Japan gained more momentum in the second half. In the 21st minute, Amishiro delivered a pass to EGAWA Ryo who made a brilliant turn before striking a shot, giving Japan their second goal. After TAKEMURA Junko and YOTSUI Saki scored their first goal of the competition, Japan secured their spot into the semi-final with a 5-1 victory.

Japan will now face Thailand in the semi-final. After the match, Amishiro shared her enthusiasm, “we are looking forward to play under an away game atmosphere.”

Coach's and Players' Comments

KOGURE Kenichiro, Coach (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
We struggled facing superb saves made by the opposing goalkeeper in the first half, but we still managed to create many goal scoring opportunities, so I believed in our team to score goals in the second half. The important thing is that we managed to win in a large competition like this. We entered the tournament with very limited preparation time, but I can see my players improving through each matches. We would like to win against Thailand in our next match, and advance to the final.

FP #7 TAKEMURA Junko (FUGADOR SUMIDA LADIES)
The knockout stage has begun, and we will be eliminated with a loss. However, today we seemed to have entered the match on the wrong foot. Our opponents overwhelmed us with their strength and speed, threatening our goal early on. We could not create a good rhythm for our side, but we managed to score a goal, so that was a good thing. A tense atmosphere continued into the second half as the match progressed 1-0, but the fact we scored two, three goals consecutively helped us gain composure. Personally, I am glad I was able to score in this match. We will face a strong Thailand side. In our last encounter, we lost against them, and I still remember the bitterness, so we would like to win this time and advance to the final.

FP #10 NAKAJIMA Shiori (FSF Mostoles/Spain)
It took us a while to find our rhythm in the first half, but after we scored the opening goal, we managed to play our game. There were stretches where we struggled against the opposing power-play, but I am glad we pulled off a win. I would like to point out that all of the field players have scored a goal in this competition thus far, and I am very happy for that. We have been striving as a team to materialise Coach Kogure’s attacking style futsal, and I think that has contributed to this result. We have lost against Thailand when we faced them last time. We will like to show an even greater intention in our next match and win the match playing our style of futsal.

Schedule

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

AFC Women's Futsal Championship Thailand 2018

Tournament Period: 2 May 2018 (Wed.) - 12 May 2018 (Sat.)
For more information