On Sunday 21 August, the U-20 Japan Women's National Team played against the U-20 France Women’s National Team in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2022™ quarterfinals. After playing through 120 minutes including overtime, the Japanese side earned their ticket to the semi-finals in a penalty shootout.

For this match, coach IKEDA Futoshi made two changes to their starting line-up against the USA, as HAMANO Maika and AMANO Suzu returned to the line-up since their second group stage match.

France are a strong side, having finished as runners-up in the 2016 tournament and in the top four in the previous tournament. The match started with France taking advantage of their physical strengths to keep possession of the ball, while Japan took a collective approach to win the ball and initiate quick counterattacks.

The opening goal came in the 15th minute, when the shot taken by Magnaba FOLQUET deflected off a Japanese defender and the hands of OBA Shu before finding the back of the net. Despite conceding a goal for the first time in this tournament, Japan continued to keep their composure to display their aggressive football style, which they have established over the years.

Japan’s persistent effort came to fruition in the 30th minute, when Hamano responded to a long pass delivered by TABATA Haruna and earned foul inside the box. YAMAMOTO Yuzuki stepped up to the spot and calmly converted her shot to equalise the match.

With the match tied at 1-1, Hamano received a pass from Yamamoto just outside the penalty box before striking a pinpoint shot that caught the far corner of the French goal. Japan continued to create chances following this goal, as OYAMA Aemu led the offence from midfield, but couldn’t find ways to capitalise on their opportunities.

In efforts to change the dynamics of the match, FUJINO Aoba, HIJIKATA Maya, and MATSUKUBO Manaka were introduced in the late stages of the match, but it was France who scored the next goal. In the 85th minute, Esther MBAKEM-NIARO responded to the through ball delivered by Vicki BECHO to enter the box and fired a powerful shot through the near side to send the match into overtime.

Gaining momentum from their late equaliser, France took the lead in the 110th minute, when Folquet superbly controlled the long ball from the right flank before setting up the shot of Megane HOELTZEL, who struck a well-placed shot into the corner of the Japanese goal.

Desperately needing a goal, Japan earned a free kick at the left side of the opposing territory during additional time. With both sides scrambling to connect with the in-swinging cross delivered by Oyama, Fujino collided with the opposing goalkeeper, which the referee ruled as a penalty kick after reviewing the play via VAR. Fujino converted the spot kick herself to send the match into penalty shootout.

After Oba denied France’s first spot taker, Japan converted all five kicks to advance through to the semi-finals.

Japan will now face Brazil at Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica on Thursday 25 August.

Coach and Players' Comments

IKEDA Futoshi, Head Coach of U-20 Japan Women's National Team
France showed great endurance and were a wonderful team. We really wanted to win this match in 90 minutes, so that is an aspect I regret as a coach. However, the players showed great determination to stay in the tournament and to win the title, which helped us fight until the very end. The fact that the team shared a mutual understanding of how to compete when trailing behind led to that last penalty. Being able to play two more matches in this tournament will be an invaluable experience for the players. We will do our best to condition ourselves for the match against Brazil and try to keep the momentum going.

GK #18 OBA Shu (East Tennessee State University/USA)
I am very happy that we were able to fight until the end and advance to the semi-finals. Although there were moments when we were overwhelmed by the opponents’ momentum, we all kept telling each other to stay composed and keep our heads up. Even when we conceded during overtime, nobody gave up. With so many people cheering us on, I feel that we were able to enjoy playing football from the bottom of our hearts. From the semi-finals onwards, I want to play even better football and increase the number of people cheering for us.

DF #3 NAGAE Ibuki (AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies)
The mood went completely towards France when they scored the third goal, but no one on our team was giving up, and I was encouraged by the words of (KOYAMA) Shinomi, who told me “Ibuki-san it’s okay, we still got this!” When we conceded the equaliser in the second half, I had flash backs from the quarterfinal match against New Zealand at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Uruguay 2018™, which we lost in penalties, so I am glad we were able to win this time. Now that we have made it through to the semi-finals, we must win two more matches to claim the title. We will reflect on the three goals we conceded, but also take the positives from this match to score more goals to win against Brazil.

MF ＃6 OYAMA Aemu (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Menina)
I am really happy for this win. We conceded early in the first half, but we knew we still had plenty of time to come from behind as long as we play our game. When we gave up the lead in overtime, we had no time left, so we determined to leave everything on the pitch. The pressure has intensified as we progress through the tournament, but I feel like I was able to play with confidence today. Through these four matches, I have been able to prove that I can compete at the international level, and that this team is making progress towards the right direction. We are expecting another tough match against Brazil, but we hope to win two more matches to finish the tournament on a high note.

FW #11 HAMANO Maika (INAC Kobe Leonessa)
I have been told that the opponent’s left centre back has a tendency of being out of position, so I was anticipating to exploit that space. Although we were able to possess the ball, we struggled to score goals, so we talked during halftime to keep the ball moving and try to find the open space to create opportunities. The second goal came from a play I had been working with my club, so I was able to stick with my game intuition. I feel fortunate to be a part of this team. I will cherish every moment and strive to win our next match.

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2022™

Tournament Dates: Wed. 10 - Sun. 28 August 2022

Group Stage
1st Match: Thu. 11 August 14:00 vs U-20 Netherlands Women's National Team
2nd Match: Sun. 14 August 11:00 vs U-20 Ghana Women's National Team
3rd Match: Wed. 17 August 17:00 vs U-20 USA Women's National Team
Knockout Stage
Quarterfinals: Sun. 21 August 20:00 vs U-20 France Women’s National Team
Semi-finals: Thu. 25 August 20:00 vs U-20 Brazil Women’s National Team
*Time shown in local time

Tournament Information