On 20 November, the U-20 Japan Women’s National Team played the final group stage match of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Papua New Guinea 2016 against the U-20 Canada Women’s National Team. At that time, Spain had been on top with 2 wins, and both Japan and Nigeria were chasing Spain with 1 win and 1 loss; it was a dead-heat to decide which team would go through to the next stage. For Japan, winning the third match against Canada was the only way to qualify without being affected by another group stage match. This final group stage match kicked off at 4 pm with a strong wind blowing.

Since the match against Spain, Japan changed 5 out of 11 players since the previous match. Goalkeeper MATSUMOTO Mamiko, right side-back, midfielder MIYAGAWA Asato, right side-half midfielder MIZUTANI Yuki were selected for the first time in this World Cup and the youngest midfielder player, HAYASHI Honoka, started as a defensive midfielder. Forward player UENO Mami, who scored a hat trick in the first match, was also included in the starting line-up.

Japan started to attack Canada from the beginning. In the 5th minute, defender NORIMATSU Ruka kicked a low ball to forward MOMIKI Yuka who then took a shot from range and earned a corner kick. Defender ICHISE Nana ran in to the far-side and connected with a Momiki’s corner kick, but her attempt did not find the Canada’s goal.

Japan could not break through Canada’s solid defense easily, but they finally managed to score in the 26th minute. Japan’s corner kick from the left side caused a goal mouth scramble, and defender Ichise picked it up and took a shot. However, the shot was cleared before the goal line by an opposing defender. That loose ball went in front of midfielder HASEGAWA Yui, who calmly pushed the ball into the net and scored the opening goal. In the 42nd minute, forward Momiki smashed a strong shot. Canadian goalkeeper blocked the first attempt but forward Ueno reacted and slotted back into the net. Japan finished the 1st half with 2 goals ahead.

During the half-time, the players encouraged each other to keep-up their momentum until the end. In the 2nd minute of the second half, Japan’s strong determination made a positive outcome. Forward Momiki crossed the ball to the centre and another forward Ueno passed it to the far side, where midfielder Hayashi reacted to it and fired a shot which successfully found the target. At that moment, not only Hayashi, but also all the other Japanese players on the pitch had smiles on their faces. Nobody could stop Japan’s fierce attack. In the 51st and 73rd minutes midfielder Hasegawa and iminute midfielder SUGITA Hina scored goals, respectively. Japan won a sweeping victory 5-0 in the end.

Macth details

At the same time, there was another match of the group where Nigeria beat Spain. As a result, Japan qualified for the knock out stage as the top team of the Group B. The next match will be on 24 November, where they will  play the quarter-final match against  the second-placed team of Group A, the U-20 Brazil Women’s National Team.

Coach's and Players' Comments

TAKAKURA Asako, Coach
At first I felt the players’ movements were stiff, but they managed to control the match with high motivation and scored several goals. Due to the wind, we could not play how we really wanted. Our strength in stringing passes wasn’t easy, and we had stretches where we couldn’t control the ball as we usually do. In the next knock out stage, one defeat means leaving the World Cup, so keeping a strong mentality will be very important. It is also crucial to play consistently, and this will be affected if we cannot play in top form. By improving our individual fitness and capacity to make right decisions, we will keep looking at our target to win the title.

MF #8 HASEGAWA Yui (NIPPON TV BELEZA)
It was fortunate that I could score the important opening goal. We cannot lose any match in the next knock out stage, so we should never play like our second match. How we enter every match will be important, but we have players who can change negative air in case we cannot start the match well. I will keep working hard to become one of those impact players.

MF #20 HAYASHI Honoka (CEREZO OSAKA SAKAI LADIES)
In the first half, we could have attacked more aggressively. After scoring the first goal, I was less nervous and I gradually started to show my strength. That made me think that I can aggressively seek for goals in the second half. To maintain our good perfroamnce, the most important thing is controlling the ball. We want to play with careful attention to details and raise our finishing accuracy in front of the goal.

FW #18 UENO Mami (EhimeFCLadies)
I think we could move the ball around at our own pace in the beginning. Even though we were pressured, we kept our composure and played patiently, while focusing on making good passes. We improved performance from the match against Spain lin terms of finding good chances to score goals. Personally I think I could have attacked even more if I could maintain possession when my teammates passed it to me. I lost the ball several times today. In defence, we wanted to steal the ball more in the forward line, and we will try to do so from the next match.

Schedule

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