On Tuesday 21 August, the Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team) faced the Vietnam Women's National Team in their second match of the 18th Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Palembang. Both teams had already secured their spot into the quarterfinals with their win over Thailand, and the two teams squared off against each other with the group lead at stake.

Coach TAKAKURA Asako rotated seven players from their previous starting line-up, as NAKAJIMA Emi was given the arm band and started in the left midfield position. TAKAGI Hikari was named as the left full back, while MASUYA Rika was positioned upfront. Prior to this tournament, Coach Takakura had made it clear that she will demand multiple roles from her players and this match’s starting line-up showcased exactly what she meant.

With the sun still scorching the field, leaving no shades for the players to hide, Japan kicked off the match at 15:00 local time.

Japan came out initiating the action from the early minutes of the match as they applied aggressive pressure from the front line. The first goal of the match came in the fifth minute, when Masuya forced a turnover deep in the opponent’s territory to start a short counter. Masuya carried the ball upfront to force the opposing goalkeeper to come out and calmly dished the ball to SUGASAWA Yuika who slotted the ball into the goal. The players materialised exactly what they talked in the pre-game meeting as their coach told them that, “Under this hot weather, it is important to take the early lead,” and “The forwards need to score the goals.” This opening goal set up the momentum for Japan for the remainder of the match.

The Japanese defenders displayed their involvement in their attacks, as the right full back, SHIMIZU Risa made an effort to score off a cross delivered by Takagi.

In the 17th minute, MOMIKI Yuka collected a loose ball in the penalty area while holding off an opposing defender and struck a shot at goal. The goalkeeper was able to get a hand on the ball, but Momiki’s shot carried enough momentum to find the back of the net to give Japan their second goal. The persistent attacks showcased by the Japanese side contained Vietnam in their own half. Japan capped off the first half by scoring their third goal in the 38th minute, when Nakajima scored with the assist provided by Masuya, as they entered halftime with a 3-0 lead.

Although the team returned to the locker room with a three-goal lead, Coach Takakura demanded more from her players as she mentioned, “Although we have created many opportunities, we are lacking quality in our finishes. The plays are lacking commitment and you are not playing serious enough. We must change that in the second half.”

As the shadows started to invade the pitch, the second half started where forward TANAKA Mina was brought in for defender Shimizu, shifting their formation from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2, in efforts to add layers to their offence.

However, it was the Vietnam side who created the opportunities early in the second half. Vietnam initiated multiple attacks from counter attacks to threaten the Japanese goal, but led by their goalkeeper, YAMASHITA Ayaka, the Japanese defence line kept her composure to deny Vietnam from scoring a goal.

After shielding off the attacks generated by Vietnam, Japan started to adapt to their new system and started to create opportunities. In the 52nd minute, Masuya, who shifted her position to the right flank, timed herself perfectly to deliver a direct cross towards the centre. Tanaka was at the receiving end of this cross, where she made a swift turn to free herself up in front of the goal and calmly converted this opportunity to give Japan their fourth goal. Masuya and Sugasawa combined well to score a goal apiece while assisting each other in the 64th and 77th minute respectively. Tanaka capped off the scoring with her second goal of the match in the 88th minute to give Japan a 7-0 victory over Vietnam to clinch the top spot of their league.

Coach FUKUI Tsuyoshi who is serving the role of the group leader for the Japanese athletes at the Asian Games, along with the Sepak Takraw men’s and women’s national team paid a visit to the match venue to cheer on the Nadeshiko squad, creating a unique scene that can only be seen at the Asian Games.

The fixtures of the quarterfinals will be determined following the matches conducted on Wednesday 22.

Coach and Players’ Comments

TAKAKURA Asako, Coach of Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team)
It is a good thing that we managed to win the match by scoring seven goals, but we failed to convert many of our chances in the first half. We can blame the pitch condition, but nonetheless it was a stressful match. We need to demand higher in terms of quality of our plays.

MF #4 MASUYA Rika (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
I am glad I managed to get involved in many of our goals and I was able to make some good turns to face the goal. However, there were many opportunities I could have scored. Ahead of the quarterfinals, we must communicate with each other to improve on our defence and to keep ourselves on the same page. We also must keep working hard as a team to convert the chances we are given in our next match.

FW #9 SUGASAWA Yuika (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies)
We managed to score a goal early in the match which allowed us to follow up with more goals, so that goal was a positive goal for both the team and myself. But we should have scored more goals, especially because our opponent was entering this match with just one-day rest and were clearly out of gas. With that in mind, it would have been better if we played more collectively. I haven’t been able to score goals in the recent matches, despite being given the opportunities, so I am glad I managed to score two goals today, it gave me great confidence moving forward.

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】Quarterfinals
Sat. 25 August 18:00 [Japan time] vs 2nd Place of Group B

Tournament Information