International Friendly Match vs U-20 Netherlands Women's National Team
Sun. 29 July 2018 Kick-off time 16:30 Match duration 90mins (45mins ×2)
Sportpark Zuid, Netherlands

U-20 Japan Women's National Team 2-2 (1-0, 1-2) U-20 Netherlands Women's National Team

Scores
17' UEKI Riko (U-20 Japan Women's National Team)
85' goal against (U-20 Netherlands Women's National Team)
87' KONO Fuka (U-20 Japan Women's National Team)
88' goal against (U-20 Netherlands Women's National Team)

Starting Line-ups
GK: STAMBAUGH Hannah
DF: USHIJIMA Riko, TAKAHASHI Hana, MINAMI Moeka, KITAMURA Nanami
MF: MIYAGAWA Asato, HAYASHI Honoka, NAGANO Fuka, MIYAZAWA Hinata
FW: TAKARADA Saori, UEKI Riko

Reserves
GK: FUKUTA Mai, SUZUKI Aguri
DF: ONO Nana, TAKAHIRA Miyu
MF: IMAI Yurina, FUKUTA Yui, SATO Mizuka, ENDO Jun
FW: KONO Fuka, MURAOKA Mami

Substitutions
35' STAMBAUGH Hannah → SUZUKI Aguri
HT MIYAZAWA Hinata → ENDO Jun
HT UEKI Riko → MURAOKA Mami
HT MIYAGAWA Asato → SATO Mizuka
HT TAKAHASHI Hana → ONO Nana
56' SUZUKI Aguri → FUKUTA Mai
64' KITAMURA Nanami → TAKAHIRA Miyu
64' HAYASHI Honoka → FUKUTA Yui
77' ENDO Jun → IMAI Yurina
77' TAKARADA Saori → KONO Fuka

Match Report

On Sunday 29 July, the U-20 Japan Women's National Team played an international friendly match against the U-20 Netherlands Women's National Team as their final tune-up match ahead of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018.

The match saw Japan take the initiative as they took control of the ball possession from early on. In the 14th minute, forward UEKI Riko delivered a through ball to defender KITAMURA Nanami who carried the ball into the penalty area but was denied by the opposing defender before taking a shot. Japan struggled against the quick pressure applied by the Dutch side but found their way to score the opening goal in the 17th minute when midfielder MIYAGAWA Asato passed the ball to Ueki, who fired a powerful shot from the outside of the box which found the back of the net.

After entering halftime with a one goal lead, Japan made four substitutes ahead of the second half. In the 67th minute, forward MURAOKA Mami struck a shot after receiving a pass from midfielder SATO Mizuka found, but her attempt went just wide of the goal. Japan conceded a goal in the 85th minute off a freekick but retook the lead just two minutes later when defender TAKAHIRA Miyu launched a long ball to forward KONO Fuka who converted this opportunity by taking a shot from the left side. Just as the Japanese side were looking to close out the match, the Netherlands once again equalised the match in the 88th minute as the match ended with a final score of 2-2.

Players' Comments

DF #2 ONO Nana (Kanagawa University)
We played against the Netherlands today. In the scene where we conceded the goal, we weren’t anticipating the play and we were too slow to respond. Although we ended up with a draw, it gave us a great opportunity to face a foreign squad and make us realise what we must work on ahead of the World Cup. We have very limited time before the World Cup, but we will do our best to put in the best preparation as possible.

FW #19 UEKI Riko (NIPPON TV BELEZA)
This was our final training match prior to the World Cup. We faced a very physical Netherlands team, and we saw many scenes where we lost the battles in the fifty-fifty situations. Although we lacked physical strengths, we did a good job to defend as team, as we showed a great collective effort from the offensive players. We also displayed quick transitions which will be essential in the World Cup matches. The fact we couldn’t win the match gives us something to worry about. I am personally disappointed with my own performance, so we will do our best as a team to improve ourselves within the limited time ahead of the World Cup.

Schedule

*Local Time, Japan time indicated within the parentheses
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup France 2018

Tournament Dates: Sun. 5 August - Sat. 24 August 2018
Live broadcasting for all matches scheduled on Fuji Television NEXT
Information on live broadcast(Japanese website)
Tournament Information