On Thursday 16 August, the Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team) faced the Thailand Women's National Team in their first match of the 18th Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Palembang.

Once the sun is set, the temperature drops dramatically at Palembang, leaving a cool climate for the players to play football. The match kicked off at 18:30 local time as the Nadeshiko Japan wore their blue jerseys.

Japan entered the match with their usual 4-4-2 formation as they showcased aggressive pressure from early on. Three minutes into the match, Japan displayed an attacking sequence they have been working on in trainings, allowing SHIMIZU Risa to strike a shot, but their attempt came short from scoring a goal. Team captain SAMESHIMA Aya, who played as the centre half, led the defence to shut down the Thailand offence. While Japan took control of the match with their solid defence, many opportunities came their way, but couldn’t create a goal scoring opportunity. A major chance came in the 13th minute, when TANAKA Mina broke through to create a one-on-one situation against the goalkeeper but couldn’t find the back of the net.

Through their dominant ball possession and solid defence, Japan continued to take the initiative against Thailand, but couldn’t find ways to solve the persistent defence showcased by the Thailand players. The Japanese players worked well with each other, keeping a good balance to create opportunities in various ways. Their long-awaited goal came in the 33rd minute, when IWABUCHI Mana carried the ball upfront and struck a right footed shot from distance. The shot found the upper right corner of the goal to give Japan the lead.

Nadeshiko Japan continued to create opportunities, but the first half ended with a score of 1-0.

With no changes made during halftime, it was the Thailand side who pushed up their defence line to apply more pressure from the front line. This strategy change proved to be effective as the Japanese side struggled to move the ball around while more counter attacks were created by the Thailand side. In the 48th minute, Japan utilised their first substitution, as SUGASAWA Yuika was brought in for Tanaka. The change was made to create opportunities with her height and speed, as she anticipated to make runs into the space behind the opposing defenders. In the 61st minute, Sugasawa broke through the central and induced a foul from the opposing goalkeeper just outside of the penalty area. Japan couldn’t convert this free kick, but the second half substitute made an impact to the match.

Thailand’s aggressive approach and their counter attacks threatened the Japanese goal, as seen in the 70th minute, when they came close to breaking away from the Japanese defence line. MIYAKE Shiori had to commit a foul to stop them from creating a crucial opportunity. Japan got away without conceding a goal, as the free kick resulting in this play did not find the target.

In the 75th minute, MOMIKI Yuka was brought into the match for NAKAJIMA Emi, and the match saw a quick turn of an event. 10 minutes after the substitution, Iwabuchi, who has shifted her position to the side, delivered a cross towards the centre. Sugasawa responded to this ball to make a cut back, where Momiki was there to head the ball into the goal. The late substitute flourished for Japan in the closing minute of the match.

The match saw more opportunities created by Japan in the remaining minutes, while Thailand also initiated counter attacks, but the match ended with a final score of 2-0, giving Japan their first victory in their first match of the tournament.

In their second match of the Asian Games, the Nadeshiko Japan will face the Vietnam Women's National Team on Tuesday 21 August with a 17:00 kick-off time.

Coach and Players’ Comments

TAKAKURA Asako, Coach of Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team)
We faced the Thailand Women’s National Team in our first match of the tournament, but after watching their performance at the recent AFC Women's Asian Cup, we knew they are a team that has developed into a major force in the recent years. Entering the first match of the tournament is always difficult, but with next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Tokyo Olympics in sight, we wanted to display dominance throughout the entire match. In hindsight, it did not work out the way we anticipated, but the fact we managed to start the tournament with a 2-0 victory is a positive result that we should be happy about.

GK #1 IKEDA Sakiko (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies)
We were able to possess the ball for a long time, so we kept our focus on the opponent’s counter attacks and set plays. As a goalkeeper, keeping a clean sheet was a must, so I am glad we were able to finish the match without conceding a goal. In terms of offence, there weren’t many scenes where I could help out the team, so I felt that I need to improve more on the first play to initiate our attacks. We should take this win as a positive. Although with the way our team dominated the match, we could have scored more goals, the fact we kept a clean sheet leaves us confidence towards our next match. Even in matches where we have full control of the match like today, I felt the importance to remain mobile throughout the entire 90minutes to adjust our positionings and give no break to the opponents. In matches against strong teams who are striving to win the World Cup and the Olympics, those aspects can ultimately decide the game. The first match of the tournament is always difficult and the fact we managed to earn a victory gives us a big step forward. We must not let our guards down and face each match one at a time. The team’s growth will lead to our victory in this tournament, so we will reset our minds and prepare towards our next match as a team.

DF #4 MIYAKE Shiori (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
With the match being our first match of the tournament, it was very difficult, but I’m glad we managed to win without conceding any goals. However, we saw many tasks through this match, both as a team and as an individual. There were scenes where I couldn’t make a full approach to the opposing forward because I was scared of being counter attacked. I need to improve the quality of my decision makings in each of those situations. I will prepare myself to heighten the quality of my performance ahead of our match against Vietnam.

MF #16 SUMIDA Rin (Nippon TV Beleza)
I knew it was going to be a difficult match, as it was our fist match of the tournament. However, it really reminded me how difficult it is to score a goal. In today’s match, I challenged myself to aggressively deliver vertical passes. Despite winning the match with a score of 2-0, we could have scored more goals if we had moved the ball around with better pace and utilised more pass-and-go to add layers to our offence. In our next match against Vietnam, I would like to be keener to score goals and display my eagerness to attack the opponent’s goal.

Schedule

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

The 18th Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Palembang

Tournament Dates:Sat. 18 August - Sun. 2 September 2018

【Women's】Group Stage
1st Match Thu. 16 August 20:30 [Japan Time] vs Thailand
2nd Match Tue. 21 August 17:00 [Japan Time] vs Vietnam

Tournament Information