ALGARVE CUP 2018
Group League 3rd Match vs Denmark
Mon. 5 March Kick-off 15:40 (Local Time) Playing Time 90min.(45min.×2)
Estadio Algarve (Faro/Portugal)

Nadeshiko Japan 2-0 (0-0, 2-0) Denmark

Scores
83' HASEGAWA Yui (Nadeshiko Japan)
90+3' IWABUCHI Mana (Nadeshiko Japan)

Starting Line-ups
GK: IKEDA Sakiko
DF: SAMESHIMA Aya, KUMAGAI Saki, MIYAKE Shiori, ICHISE Nana
MF: SAKAGUCHI Mizuho, ARIYOSHI Saori, NAKAJIMA Emi, HASEGAWA Yui
FW: IWABUCHI Mana, TANAKA Mina

Reserves
GK: YAMANE Erina, YAMASHITA Ayaka
DF: UTSUGI Rumi, TAKAGI Hikari, OYA Ayumi, SHIMIZU Risa
MF: NAOMOTO Hikaru, MASUYA Rika, SUMIDA Rin
FW: HAJI Madoka, SUGASAWA Yuika, YOKOYAMA Kumi

Substitutions
HT ARIYOSHI Saori → SHIMIZU Risa
HT TANAKA Mina → YOKOYAMA Kumi
59' ICHISE Nana → UTSUGI Rumi
68' NAKAJIMA Emi → MASUYA Rika

Match Report

In their third group league match in the Algarve Women's Football Cup 2018, Nadeshiko Japan faced Denmark Women's National Team. With the Netherlands being the only team collecting two wins after two matches in the group league, a win here meant that it would put them in a higher play-off match.

Following torrential rain over the few days leading to the match, the Japanese players checked out the condition of the sodden pitch during their warm-up session. The gameday also saw a downpour prior to kick-off, but the sky cleared by the 3:40 p.m. kick-off time. In this match, ICHISE Nana joined forces with SAKAGUCHI Mizuho in the defensive midfield position.

In efforts to take the initiative, Nadeshiko Japan came out aggressively to start the match. Denmark also sought for opportunities through movements and short passes in their midfield, but the tight pressure applied by the Nadeshiko side kept Denmark away from creating major goal threats.

Nadeshiko Japan’s defence collaborated well to force turn overs and effectively connected the ball to their attacking third. The first half saw good chemistry between ARIYOSHI Saori and NAKAJIMA Emi on the right flank, along with the attacker TANAKA Mina, creating great opportunities. Denmark defence had to play the guessing game as the Japanese side occasionally mixed in long balls while keeping possession with short passes.

However, despite creating numerous chances, Japan would finish the half scoreless.

At half-time, Coach TAKAKURA Asako used two of her substitutes, playing YOKOYAMA Kumi and HASEGAWA Yui as their two-strikers while moving IWABUCHI to the right flank.

Nadeshiko Japan continued to apply pressure in the second half, relentlessly chasing their opponents from their front line. After being moved to the right flank, Iwabuchi was given more freedom to carry the ball, while second-half substitute SHIMIZU Risa showed aggressive overlapping runs. Although the match entered the closing phase without seeing any goals, Japan finally broke the deadlock when Hasegawa scored the long-awaited goal in the 83rd minute. Nadeshiko would then go on to earn a penalty kick in additional time and converted it to give themselves a 2-0 victory.

Coaches' and Players' Comments

TAKAKURA Asako, Coach of Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women’s National Team)
Today was a game of patience. Our players understood that this was a must win game, and they played tenaciously throughout the match. The pitch was very heavy, and it was a disadvantage for us. We must work on our finishing. Our combinations have gotten better, but it still needs improvement as well. I think if we can heighten our quality, we’d be able to score more goals. We have players who can play with pace, initiate good rhythm, and create chances. At this point our players are still trying to deepen their understandings while heightening their quality of combinations, but I feel confident to play any player at any given point.

MF #6 ARIYOSHI Saori (Nippon TV Beleza)
In this match, not only was I focused to improve on the matches against the Netherlands and Iceland, but I wanted to provide good rhythm to my team by playing physical defence. In our match against the Netherlands, we lacked individual battles, and we made adjustments in our match against Iceland. As long as the defence does not give up goals, our team has a chance of winning the match. That’s the kind of enthusiasm I wanted to provide to our team. We saw some tough stretches during today’s match, but we were able to hold our opponents out. It would have been better if we could have created more chances, but this is the kind of game we must play when facing against stronger opponents. Our defence were able to intentionally create turnovers by sharing a mutual understanding, and that’s a good sign of us starting to function as a team

Schedule

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

Algarve Women's Football Cup 2018

Tournament Period: 28 February 2018 (Wed.) - 7 March 2018 (Wed.)

Nadeshiko Japan's (Japan Women's National Team) Match
1st Match 28 February (Wed.) kick-off 15:40 (Japan Time: 24:40) vs Netherlands
2nd Match 2 March (Fri.) kick-off 15:25 (Japan Time: 24:25) vs Iceland
3rd Match 5 March (Mon.) kick-off 15:40 (Japan Time: 24:40) vs Denmark
5th Place Play-Off 7 March (Wed.) 14:55 (Japan Time: 23:55) vs Canada

All matches to be broadcasted live across Japan by Fuji TV Group

For more information