The 4th Delle Nazioni Tournament vs U-17 Macedonia Women's National Team
Wed. 1 May 2019 18:00 (Local time) Match duration 70mins (35mins×2)
Marano, Italy

U-16 Japan Women's National Team 4-0 (3-0, 1-0) U-17 Macedonia Women's National Team

Scores
20' ASAKURA Kanako (U-16 Japan Women's National Team)
23' MUNAKATA Minami (U-16 Japan Women's National Team)
28' OYAMA Aemu (U-16 Japan Women's National Team)
50' MUNAKATA Minami (U-16 Japan Women's National Team)

Starting Line-up
GK: HATTORI Momoka
DF: ASAKURA Kanako, OTA Moe, OGIKUBO Yuri, HAYASHI Manaka
MF: KIMURA Sana, HAZEKAWA Yuna, OYAMA Aemu, MATSUO Mizuki
FW: NISHIKIORI Miki, MUNAKATA Minami

Reserves
GK: NODA Nina
DF: ISHIKAWA Rion, KOYAMA Shinomi
MF: MINOWA Chisato, TANNO Ririka, AMANO Suzu
FW: NISHIO Hanon, HAMANO Maika

Substitutions
51' HAZEKAWA Yuna → MINOWA Chisato
53' OYAMA Aemu → NISHIO Hanon
69' OGIKUBO Yuri → KOYAMA Shinomi
69' MATSUO Mizuki → TANNO Ririka

Match Report

On Wednesday 1 May, the U-16 Japan Women's National Team played their third group stage match of the 4th Delle Nazioni Tournament against the U-17 Macedonia Women's National Team.

Prior to the match, Coach KANO Michihisa sent off his players by mentioning, “Let’s all play with the pride and responsibility of the Japan National Team, and attack with aggression in this match.”

Contrary to the first two matches, the third match kicked-off under a clear sky. From the early minutes of the match, it was Japan who took control of the match, but they struggled to create a clear opportunity.

The opening goal came for Japan in the 20th minute, when MATSUO Mizuki broke through the right flank before sending a cross into the penalty area. Defender ASAKURA Kanako was there to convert the cross to give Japan the lead. Another goal followed in the 23rd minute, when MUNAKATA Minami capitalised on the cross delivered by NISHIKIORI Miki. With momentum on their side, Japan went onto score another goal before halftime, as OYAMA Aemu scored directly from a free kick in the 28th minute.

The second half saw Japan continue to dominate the match. In the 44th minute, Nishikiori came close to scoring a goal when she chased down a through ball sent by Munakata, but her shot was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper. The two players combined again in the 50th minute, as Munakata connected with the cross delivered by Nishikiori to score her second goal of the match. Japan held onto their four-goal lead to mark their third consecutive victory and advance to the tournament final.

The U-16 Japan Women's National Team will now face the U-17 DPR Korea Women's National Team in the final on Friday 3 May.

Players' Comments

GK #1 HATTORI Momoka (JFA Academy Fukushima)
After winning our first two matches with a shutout, we entered the third match with the intention to keep another clean sheet to get ourselves prepared for the final. Compared to the first group stage match, the opponents didn’t apply much pressure, so I was able to keep my composure. However, as a team, we seemed to have played with a slower tempo today. It is expected that our opponents will apply much quicker pressure at the final, so we must be prepared to give our best performance in order to win the match.

DF #2 ASAKURA Kanako (Osaka Gakugei Senior High School)
I entered the match with the intention to showcase my best performance to help the team win. In our match against Russia, we struggled with our build-up plays, so we focused on playing with more creativity and tried to change our preliminary actions. I was a little nervous, but I really wanted to score a goal, so I was really glad when I scored the first goal of the Reiwa era for the U-16 Japan Women's National Team. I will continue to work hard to get myself involved in our goals at the final.

MF #14 KIMURA Sana (Nippon TV Menina)
During our pre-match meeting, we were told that our opponents were going to be playing a man-to-man defence, so we entered the match with the intention to utilise the space behind the opponents and to effectively combine with the fullbacks to penetrate the flanks. We struggled to move the ball around in the first half and failed to create the opportunities we were looking for. We talked it out during halftime and got ourselves on the same page, which helped us create more opportunities in the second half. In our post-match meeting, we reminded ourselves of what it takes to be playing for the Japan National Team, so we hope to showcase our strong commitment at the final.

Scheduled

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

The 4th Delle Nazioni Tournament

Tournament Dates: Sun. 28 April - Fri. 3 May 2019

Tournament Information