The U-17 Japan Women's National Team had their second match of the group stage against Paraguay in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Jordan 2016 on Tuesday 4 October at King Abdullah II International Stadium in Amman. 

Paraguay's Daysy BAREZRO fired a close shot early on, but Japan rallied back moments later. In the 4th minute, TOMITA Miyu, who received NAGANO Fuka's pass on the right flank, crossed the ball to TAKAHASHI Hana, who reacted superbly and scored the opener with her left foot.

Thereafter, the match saw fierce battles in the midfield. While Paraguay went on attacking for an equaliser, and Japan looked for scoring additional goals. As coach KUSUNOSE Naoki commented later 'long turf troubled us', the Japan side made small mistakes, and the match became a rapidly changing game with attacking and defending switching at a bewildering pace. But Japan calmed the match down with mixture of long and short passes after 20 minutes and menaced the South American side again. In the 29th minute, Takahashi, after receiving a Nagano's forward pass facing the opponents’ goal, connected with TAKARADA Saori on the right flank. NOJIMA Sakura met Takarada's cross at the far past scoring the second goal for Japan.

Nojima wasted a golden opportunity soon after that, but Japan's momentum was even stronger. In the 39th minute, Nojima put home a penalty kick that she earned to make it 3-0. Five minutes later, when Takarada split two Paraguay players and sent a pass to Nojima, who eventually found the back of the net for a hat trick to extend the lead to four.

With their eyes set on the coming matches, the Japan boss aggressively brought on substitutes, including CHIBA Remina for UEKI Riko. In the 66th minute, goalkeeper MIZUGUCHI Mayu came off for KOGURE Chiaki, who started the match for the first time in this tournament.

With 20 minutes remaining, Japan strung passes together in their end and forced the opponents to keep running. Even when Paraguay tried to hit on the break, Japan's transition from attacking to defence was quick, which ended up holding Paraguay to only four shots throughout the match. In the 89th minute, Takarada responded to Chiba's setup and scored her team's fifth goal for one last push. Japan grabbed back-to-back 5-0 wins, staying on top of Group D.

Match Details

In the match held before the Japan-Paraguay clash, Ghana showed a brilliant comeback against the United States, beating them 2-1. The African side caught up with the United States on points and kept their hopes alive to qualify for the final stage.

Coach's and Players' Comments

KUSUNOSE Naoki, Coach (U-17 Japan Women’s National Team)
The win today would put us closer to getting through the group stage and the loss would put us in a big hole, so my players were nervous. The turf was long and the ball was heavy. Also the Paraguay players were very physical, so our vertical passes didn’t go through early. If we hadn’t scored the opening goal, that would have made it very difficult for us. But we kept defending our goal, and my players kept trying not to lose the ball despite many mistakes we made. The way we played will help us next, I think. 

GK #12 KOGURE Chiaki (Maebashi Ikuei High School)
The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup is the stage I have been dreaming of. To get there, I have been thinking I want to do everything I can and be prepared. In the match, our offensive stretch was longer than defence, but I kept talking with our backline to control our risks. Especially we emphasised the importance of dealing with long balls, and we focused on our defensive line always paying attention to covering the opponents and spaces. Our main aim was to keep the clean sheet as a team. So being able to do that two matches in a row strengthens our confidence. 

MF #21 NOJIMA Sakura (CEREZO OSAKA SAKAI Ladies)
I was disappointed about not getting to start the first match, so I was determined to score goals and help my team win. I was told during the meeting that good results will follow as long as everyone does what she is supposed to do. I believed in those words and I tried to play with confidence. I am very happy that I achieved a hat-trick in the first half, but I have some mixed feeling as well because I missed other scoring opportunities. I think we can play even better football as a team once we cut down simple mistakes and control the ball better. 

Nelson BASUALDO, Coach (U-17 Paraguay Women’s National Team)
Japan were very strong and tough opponents. The match reminded us of the big difference lying between Japan and us. It’s been a very difficult experience for my players, but I want them to be proud of playing in this tournament. And I want them to take advantage of the new assignments they find this time for their future careers. Starting with physicality and skills, we have to improve all facets of the game. I think it will take long for us to be closer to Japan and America, but I believe someday we can catch up with them.

Schedule

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