International Friendly Match 2nd Match vs U-17 USA Women's National Team
Fri. 23 March 2018 kickoff 20:00 45'x2
Premier Sports Campus, Tampa (USA)

U-17 Japan Women's National Team 1-4 (1-3, 0-1) U-17 USA Women's National Team

Scores
4' Goal against (U-17 USA Women's National Team)
11' Goal against (U-17 USA Women's National Team)
19' OSAWA Haruka (U-17 Japan Women's National Team)
36' Goal against (U-17 USA Women's National Team)
61' Goal against (U-17 USA Women's National Team)

Starting Line-ups
GK: OHBA Shu
DF: ONUKI Sakura、SHIBUYA Hana, OKUMA Tamaki, ITO Sara
MF: TAKIZAWA Chise, KINOSHITA Momoka, MATSUDA Shino, NAKAO Momo
FW: OSAWA Haruka, NAKAE Moe

Reserves
GK: MATSUI Rio, FUKUDA Shiori
DF: GATTO Yukino, GOTO Wakaba, TOMIOKA Chihiro, NAGAE Ibuki
MF: YAMAMOTO Yuzuki
FW: MIZUNO Fukina, IWAMOTO Marino, HIRAI Amyu

Substitutions
HT TAKIZAWA Chise → HIRAI Amyu
HT KINOSHITA Momoka → GOTO Wakaba
HT ONUKI Sakura → TOMIOKA Chihiro
65' OSAWA Haruka → MIZUNO Fukina
79' NAKAE Moe → IWAMOTO Marino

Match Report

On Friday 23 March, U-17 Japan Women's National Team played their second match against the U-17 USA Women's National Team.

Japan gave up a goal in the fourth minute from a corner kick, followed by another goal five minutes later when they lost possession of the ball in their own half.

In the 19th minute, in efforts to rally back, Japan's NAKAO Momo delivered a cross from the right flank. NAKAE Moe received the ball and fired a shot but couldn’t score. However, in the same minute, Nakao would this time find OSAWA Haruka, who drove past the opposing defender and scored a goal to cut the deficit in half. In the 26th minute, ONUKI Sakura passed to TAKIZAWA Chise in the left side. Takizawa dribbled up and relayed the ball to Nakae, who took a shot, but her effort was off target.

10 minutes later, Japan would concede another goal to enter halftime trailing 1-3.

In the 60th minute, HIRAI Amyu delivered the ball to ITO Sara who then made a pass to Osawa, allowing Osawa to fire a shot in the box but could not convert the opportunity.

A minute later, Japan conceded another goal off a corner kick to give the American side a 4-1 lead. In the 73rd, Japan earned a set play in the left side and TOMIOKA Chihiro sent a pass into the box, but it was called off-side.

In additional time, GOTO Wakaba delivered a cross from the right side which connected with MIZUNO Fukina, but her shot was saved by the American goalkeeper. Japan would go onto lose the match with the final score of 4-1.

The third match will be played on Friday 25 March with a kickoff time of 11:00 local time.

Players' Comments

GK #1 OHBA Shu (JFA Academy Fukushima)

We conceded three goals in the first half, and even though we score a goal, we couldn’t find our rhythm. We also couldn’t cover the speed and size difference against our opponents, as they created many threats through their long balls and set plays. We showed improvements in the second half and managed to possess the ball a little better, but we couldn’t score any goals. We need to create chances by getting more players involved and convert those chances. We will face the U.S. team for one last time in a couple days, so we would like to feed off this loss, play better defence and win the match. With the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018 in mind, each match is important, and we’d like to do our best so that we don’t leave any regrets.

DF #15 OKUMA Tamaki (JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18)
We tried to improve our game from the first match but we allowed the U.S. to play in their rhythm. As a result, we couldn’t keep possession of the ball and struggled to create much opportunities to take shots. Also, the U.S. were stronger and faster than us, and we allowed them to exploit the space behind our defence multiple times. We managed to keep possession of the ball in the second half. We were also able to free up players with our passes, and delivered many crosses, but we could not convert them. We would like to make less mistakes tomorrow and create a good momentum to compete against the U.S. team.

MF #11 NAKAE Moe (Albirex Niigata Ladies U-18)
Our opponents were taller, had longer legs and were faster than us. We tried to receive the ball by getting behind the space of the defenders, but they out-ran us and could not create a real threat. But there were occasions where we created opportunities by forcing two-on-one situations, so that was good. I tried to receive the ball to my feet, and there were times I couldn’t make a turn even though I was unmarked. Those were simply because I wasn’t aware of my surroundings, and I must pay a closer attention from now on. There were things that went well, and things that didn’t go well, so we would like to make note of those things and implement them in our next match. We need to demand results from ourselves, and head into the match with a strong mentality so that we can overwhelm the U.S. side psychologically.

FW #12 OSAWA Haruka (JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies U-18)
We tried to improve on our first match, but we were overwhelmed by our opponents’ momentum and mentality, and could not perform our game. Even though I was able to score a goal, I’ve missed many chances, and I couldn’t time myself well with my teammates when playing defence. I will keep that in mind for our training session tomorrow to prepare myself not only for the game that follows, but for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Uruguay 2018 in November.

Schedule

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