With their advancement to the final at stake, the Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team) faced the Korea Republic Women's National Team on Tuesday 28 August.

Similar to their quarterfinal match against the Korea DPR Women's National Team, the Nadeshiko Japan faced another huge challenge in their pursuit to become the Asia Champions.

Thick clouds covered the skies over the match venue, as heavy rain was seen just prior to the kick-off time, hinting the unpredictable nature of the upcoming match.

Japan rotated three players from their starting line-up of the quarterfinals, as they brought in KUNITAKE Aimi, who shows great strengths in one-on-one defence, as their left fullback, NAKASATO Yu as one of the defensive midfielders, and SUGASAWA Yuika upfront in their 4-4-2 formation.

The match was kicked-off by Korea Republic who entered the match with a 4-1-4-1 setup which strongly emphasised their offence. The opening goal came in the fifth minute, when ARIYOSHI Saori delivered a superb ball into the space behind the opposing defenders, allowing Sugasawa to make a run at the goal as she slotted the ball into the right-hand corner to give her side an early lead. Japan continued to apply pressure against the Korea Republic side who were seemingly rattled by conceding the opening goal. In the sixth minute, Ariyoshi intercepted the ball before passing it to IWABUCHI Mana who carried the ball upfront with great pace. The last pass was delivered to Sugasawa who took on the goalkeeper one-on-one, but her shot could not capture the target. With the pace of the rain picking up, Korea Republic’s JI Soyun fired a shot in the 14th minute, after she collected a loose ball from a defensive effort made by the Japanese goalkeeper YAMASHITA Ayaka, but her attempt struck the crossbar, leaving Japan with a sigh of relief. Korea Republic came close to levelling the match in the 20th minute when a shot was taken from the inside of the box, but SHIMIZU Risa managed to clear the ball right at the goal line, refusing to give up the equaliser. With the midfield getting contained by their opponents, Japan struggled to find their rhythm after their opening goal in the opening minutes. The match continued to progress with Korea Republic taking the initiative, but Japan survived through the first half without conceding a goal, entering halftime with a one goal lead.

No changes were made for Japan during halftime, as the players were seen huddling up prior to kick-off of the second half. However, continuing from the first half, it was the Korean Republic side who took control of the match. In efforts to change the game flow, Coach Coach TAKAKURA Asako brought in SAKAGUCHI Moeno for Kunitake and SUMIDA Rin for Nakasato in the 55th minute. By effectively utilising their short passes and through their quick transitions, Nadeshiko Japan started to showcase their usual rhythm, as they started to create chances. In the 58th minute, Iwabuchi delivered a pass to allow Sugasawa to take a shot, followed by a counter attack initiated from their goalkeeper Yamashita in the 64th minute, but both attempts came short from finding the back of the net. While Japan failed to convert their few chances, Korea Republic struck the equaliser in the 68th minute, when they broke through the left flank before sending a cross into the centre, where LEE Mina awaited to strike a header into the net. As the team struggled to find an effective way to get the ball delivered upfront, Japan brought in MOMIKI Yuka in for NAKAJIMA Emi in the 77th minute, shifting Iwabuchi to the right flank. Then, the deciding moment came in the 86th minute, when HASEGAWA Yui forced a turnover deep in the opposing end before passing the ball to Shimizu in the right flank, who delivered a cross towards the goal. Sugasawa was there at the far side making a cut back with a header, which induced an own goal from the Korean Republic side. Japan defended through the remaining minutes of the match to sustain their lead, finishing the match with a final score of 2-1.

Japan managed to defeat their arch-rival Korea Republic to advance through to the final.

On the other side of the bracket, the China PR Women's National Team won the match 1-0 against the Chinese Taipei Women's National Team, setting up the final matchup between Japan and China PR.

The Asian Games Women’s final will kick-off at 18:30 local time (20:30 Japan time) on Friday 31 August.

Coach and Players' Comments

TAKAKURA Asako, Coach of Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team)
Korea Republic is a very strong team and we entered the match expecting a tough match. We managed to score in the early minutes of the match and created many opportunities, but we started to play passively against Korea Republic’s aggressive attacks after we have scored the goal. We tried to make the adjustments from the bench, but our opponents showcased great attacks which were hard to defend against, as we were forced to incur a tough stretch for a while. However, our players showed great resilience to come back and deliver the go-ahead goal. Despite it being an own goal, it really made me feel that our players have matured.

DF #2 SHIMIZU Risa (Nippon TV Beleza)
In the scene where I cleared the ball at the goal line, I knew Yamashita couldn’t see where the ball was at and from where I was standing it seemed like the far side was open, so I went to cover the space. It was a tough decision because I had to leave an opposing player free in the box in order to take cover, but once I made the move, the ball came flying towards me, so I am glad I was able to make that clearance. I’ve been talking with (Sugasawa) Yuika regarding our crosses during our training sessions, and when I looked up at that moment, I saw Yuika at the far side, so I went ahead and took my chance to deliver the ball in the mix. Although it ended up as an own goal, she made a great cut back and I am glad I got to get involved with our team’s goal. Korea Republic came out much stronger than we expected, and we faced a tough stretch for a while, but we all fought hard until the very end that led to our victory. We are now in position to win the title, so we hope to end the tournament with a high note and leave with a smile.

FW #9 SUGASAWA Yuika (Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies)
In our first goal scene, Ariyoshi delivered a great ball and I was able to get a step ahead of the defenders. I had a good look at where the opposing goalkeeper was positioning herself, so that’s why I was able to take the shot at that timing. I am glad we managed to score a goal early in the match. The second goal was supposed to be a cut back to the centre, but it ended up into the goal, so as a forward, I am glad I was able to get involved in two of our team’s goals. (After scoring the opener) We struggled to keep possession of the ball, but we showed great persistency to keep our opponents out, while converting the few chances we had. I believe this match showcased our team’s colour and we hope to continue to display such performance in our next match. I missed out on a crucial opportunity right after the first goal, so I must improve myself so that I can be more critical in those situations.

Schedule

*Local Time, Japan time indicated within the parentheses
*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】Final
Fri. 31 August 20:30 [Japan time] vs China PR
Live broadcasting on NHK BS1

Tournament Information