On Saturday 30 November, Nippon TV Beleza played their third match of the AFC Women's Club Championship 2019 against Melbourne Victory (Australia), where they won 5-0 to claim the inaugural AFC Women's Club Championship title.

The match started with the Japanese side scoring the opening goal in the ninth minute, when TANAKA Mina converted the cross delivered by ARIYOSHI Saori with a header. With Beleza gaining more momentum, the second goal came in the 34th minute, when ITO Sara responded to a pass from ENDO Jun before getting fouled inside the penalty area. Ito converted the spot kick herself to give Beleza a 2-0 lead at halftime.

The second half continued to see Beleza taking control of the match, as Tanaka chased down a lobbing pass sent by HASEGAWA Yui to score the team’s third goal in the 49th minute. Seven minutes later, Tanaka converted the cross delivered by Endo to complete her hat trick. After IWASAKI Kokona scored the team’s fifth goal in additional time of the second half, Beleza won the match in a dominating fashion.

With this win, Nippon TV Beleza was crowned as the inaugural AFC Women's Club Champions with a record of two wins and a draw.

Coach and Players' Comments

NAGATA Masato, Coach (Nippon TV Beleza)
We entered this match with the intention to score goals by exploiting the space behind the opposing defence line. Despite scoring a couple goals, we struggled against the opponent’s size and power, and couldn’t create ideal situations during the first half. That is why we tried to possess the ball longer and create more chances in the second half. It was great to see our players making the necessary adjustments while showcasing an energetic performance on the pitch. Adding foreign players can bring new value to the club. However, we have been striving to win matches while conserving our style. Through this tournament, we have tried many new things, and managed to improve on many aspects, so this was a very productive tournament for us.

ARIYOSHI Saori (Nippon TV Beleza)
It still feels a bit surreal that we are the Asian champions now. Through this tournament, we were able to showcase our usual style against tough opponents, and it was great that we were able to earn this result in such fashion. We rotated our line-up throughout the three matches and managed to win the title with a total team effort. We feel like we were able to add more layers to our bench strengths while heightening the quality of our plays. In the scene where we scored the opening goal, I saw (Tanaka) Mina making a great run, so I just had to send the ball to her. In our second match against Incheon, (Goto) Wakaba left a strong impression by sprinting down the field despite getting cramps in the second half. Her play gave me great motivation to give my very best efforts in today’s match. The fact that we are getting inspired and encouraged by our teammates’ plays show what a great team we are.

ENDO Jun (Nippon TV Beleza)
I was given the opportunity to start from the first match, which was a very difficult match for us. In our second match, we managed to earn a win through a total team effort. The younger players including myself struggled to showcase our usual performance in the early minutes of the third match, but the older players led the team to give us the lead at halftime. We communicated during halftime to make the necessary adjustments and managed to win the match. I was playing too passively in the first half, so I tried to initiate more actions in the second half, which allowed me to assist a goal. I still felt the need to build my endurance to fight through consecutive matches like this and I also need to be more conscious of where I position myself in the midfield. It means a lot for Beleza to fight through three matches within five days to win this title. Although we managed to make our adjustments according to our opponents, I still saw plenty of room for improvements at a personal level, so I will continue to strive to become a better player.

ITO Sara (Nippon TV Beleza)
With the tournament title at stake, I was a bit nervous, but excited at the same time. I entered the match with the intention to get myself more involved in our build-up plays and scoring plays. In the scene where I earned the penalty kick, I had a feeling that my opponent was going to reach for the ball, so I pushed the ball forward to induce that foul. Although I am not the best spot taker, I was more nervous at kick-off than when I took the penalty kick. Coach Nagata told me to keep my eyes on (Endo) Jun’s crosses, so I was anticipating for her delivery. When I struck the header, I was pretty confident that it was going in, but it ended up hitting the cross bar. I have been spending my time with Beleza on and off the pitch, and my teammates have set a great example of what it means to be a member of Beleza, so in today’s match, I was eager to prove that I belong to this team.

AFC Women's Club Championship 2019 - FIFA/AFC Pilot Tournament

Tournament Dates: Tue. 26 - Sat. 30 November 2019
Tournament Venue: Yongin Citizen Sports Park

Tournament Information