On Wednesday 12 October, the U-17 Japan Women's National Team played their first group stage match of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022™ against the U-17 Tanzania Women's National Team. Facing the Tanzanian side who were making their FIFA World Cup™ debut in all categories, Japan scored four goals to start off the tournament with a 4-0 victory.

Japan started IWASAKI Uruha in goal, with OYA Sakura, NAKATANI Rina, KOGA Toko, and YOSHIOKA Kokoro forming the defence line. KONNO Maho and TANIKAWA Momoko were positioned as the defensive midfielders with MATSUNAGA Miyu and SHIRAGAKI Uno placed in the flanks, while TSUJISAWA Ai and SHIBATA Hitomi were the two forwards playing upfront.

The match started with Japan taking the initiative, but the Tanzanian players utilised their athleticism to showcase tenacious efforts to defend their goal. In the eighth minute, Shibata responded to a through ball delivered by Tanikawa to deliver a cross to Tsujisawa, but Tanzanian goalkeeper Husna Zuberi MTUNDA was there to make the save. Japan created another close chance in the 13th minute, when Yoshioka delivered a cross into the box, but Mtunda once again made a fine play to deny the opportunity.

A major turning point came in the 18th minute, when Neema Paul KINEGA was shown a red card, leaving Tanzania with only 10 players for the rest of the match. With the numerical advantage, Japan scored the opening goal in the 33rd minute, when Shiragaki converted the cross sent by Matsunaga.

Japan continued to dominate the ball possession but struggled to create plays with enough quality to find the back of the net. In additional time of the first half, Tanikawa fired a well struck shot, but her attempt was saved by Mtunda, as the match entered halftime with Japan holding a 1-0 lead.

With the introduction of HIWATARI Moka at the start of the second half, Japan gained more momentum in their offence. In the 67th minute, ITAMURA Mao, who also entered as a substitute in the second half, showcased a superb individual effort to score the second goal, followed by the 75th minute goal of Tsujisawa. Tanikawa capped off the action by scoring from a free kick in the 81st minute, as Japan started off the tournament with a 4-0 victory.

Japan will now face Canada on Saturday 15 October.

Coach and Players' Comments

KANO Michihisa, Head Coach of U-17 Japan Women's National Team
First of all, I am glad we were able to earn three points today. The players were fired up for this match, but they looked a bit stiff at the beginning. We knew our opponents were going to approach us man-to-man with one extra player in behind, but we couldn’t find the right timing to penetrate their defence. The fact that we managed to make adjustments during halftime helped us score those goals in the second half. Overall, the players looked a bit nervous and made technical mistakes, so that is an aspect we must fix before our next match. The atmosphere of the tournament is wonderful, with the cooperation of many people and excellent management, it is carried out just like the World Cups held in other age categories. The local audience is very excited to watch the matches, and like the players, I am very much looking forward to playing football in the presence of such an audience.

DF #16 NAKATANI Rina (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Girls)
With this being our first match, we were a bit nervous, but I am glad we were able to win the match by scoring multiple goals. The fact that everyone made conscious efforts to win the ball helped us control the match. As the team captain, I am always thinking of ways to help the team and focused on communicating with my teammates. I was a bit surprised at the length of the additional time in yesterday's match, but I kept telling the team that we had to stay focused. In our next match against Canada, I will continue to strive to win the duels and deliver passes that can help the team initiate attacks. Now that we have played a match, I got a feel for the game and looking forward to the next match.

MF #14 TANIKAWA Momoko (JFA Academy Fukushima)
First of all, I am grateful that I was able to play on this pitch. With this being our first match of the tournament, we were fully determined to earn three points. After the opponents had one of their players sent off, it opened up the space between the midfield and forwards, so we spoke during halftime that we should use this space to our advantage. It was great that we managed to penetrate that space to score goals in the second half. I am happy that I was able to score from a free kick, but I regret that I was rushing my plays, so I will try to play with more composure in our next match.

FW #2 SHIRAGAKI Uno (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies)
I am glad that we were able to start off the tournament with a win. Tanzania had many players with great speed and athleticism, so I focused on trying to outwit them, which was exactly what I was able to do when I scored that goal. With this being my first international tournament, I was really nervous, but I will continue to do my best to help the team win the next match against Canada.

FW #12 ITAMURA Mao (JFA Academy Fukushima)
Knowing that I had the chance of playing in the World Cup for the first time, I was so excited even when I was sitting on the bench. Once I was called up to enter the match, I was both excited and nervous, but I am glad I am glad I managed to enter smoothly. After the team struggled to score goals in the first half, I wanted to help the team by scoring goals, so I was really happy when I scored that goal. Even if my minutes are limited, I will give my utmost efforts to help the team score goals.

FW #13 TSUJISAWA Ai (Fujieda Junshin High School)
I was more excited than nervous in this stage of the World Cup. It was fun hearing the crowd responding to each of our plays. The atmosphere was like nothing I had ever felt before, with voices reverberating through the stadium and the loud cheers when a scored the goal. I didn’t have to do much when I scored the goal, because Itamura Mao delivered a perfect pass for me. My goal is to score at least a goal per match and win the golden boot. I am confident in my ability to penetrate the space behind the opposing defence line, so I hope to use that ability to help the team win the title. For now, I will focus on recovering my condition ahead of our next match against Canada.

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup India 2022™

Tournament Dates: Tue. 11 - Sun. 30 October 2022

Group Stage
1st Match: Wed. 12 October 20:00 vs U-17 Tanzania Women's National Team
2nd Match: Sat. 15 October 20:00 vs U-17 Canada Women's National Team
3rd Match: Tue. 18 October 20:00 vs U-17 France Women's National Team
*Time shown in local time

Tournament Information