On Wednesday 17 August, the U-20 Japan Women's National Team faced the U-20 USA Women’s National Team in their third group stage match of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2022™.

For their third and final match of the group stage, coach IKEDA Futoshi made five changes to their starting line-up against Ghana, as OBA Shu and IWASAKI Kokona were given their first start.

While the USA needed to win with at least a two goal margin to advance through, Japan needed just a draw to clinch their spot into the quarterfinals.

The USA created an early opportunity, when Ally SENTNOR struck a shot to threaten the Japanese goal in the seventh minute, but it was Japan who took the initiative of the match, as YAMAMOTO Yuzuki initiated the attacks from the right side.

Japan’s first big opportunity came in the 14th minute, when Yamamoto delivered an early cross from the right flank, which was nearly converted by MATSUKUBO Manaka at the far side. With momentum on their side, Japan continued to apply pressure upfront, as Iwasaki and OYAMA Aemu added layers to the offence from the midfield.

The USA on the other hand, made attempts through crosses and long-balls, but couldn’t find ways to get the ball past Oba, who currently plays for East Tennessee State University.

Following a scoreless first half, the deadlock was broken in the 55th minute, when Yamamoto won the ball in the opposing territory before sending a pass to Matsukubo, who calmly controlled the ball to strike a left footed shot that found the back of the net.

In the 67th minute, FUJINO Aoba sent a cross following a short corner kick, which was superbly converted by KOYAMA Shinomi, who fired a powerful shot into the American goal.

Despite conceding a goal to Simone JACKSON in the 70th minute, TABATA Haruna converted the ball delivered by NAGAE Ibuki in the 84th minute to re-extend the lead. SHIMADA Mei, who entered the match as a late substitute, also came close to scoring a goal, but her shot deflected off the cross bar.

Japan managed to hold onto their two goal lead to win the match 3-1, clinching their spot into the knockout stage with three consecutive victories. They will now face France in the quarterfinals on Sunday 21 August.

Coach and Players' Comments

IKEDA Futoshi, Head Coach of U-20 Japan Women's National Team
We knew this was going to be a tough match. Despite winning our first two matches, we had not clinched our spot into the knockout stage, so the players were playing with a lot of pressure against a very tough opponent, but they prepared well and fought extraordinary hard. Our opponent had many players who were capable of sending long balls from the defence line, so we focused on keeping our defence compact in the first half, while we applied pressure from the frontline in the second half to maintain our rhythm. The opening goal was huge for us and the fact that we were able to score multiple goals gives us great confidence moving forward. However, we also committed many passing errors, so that is an aspect we must improve on. We have three days to prepare ahead of the knockout stage, so we hope to make the most of the given time.

GK #18 OBA Shu (East Tennessee State University/USA)
With this being my first appearance in this tournament and with so many people watching us at the stadium, I was a bit nervous at first. However, I was very enthused about facing the USA since I had been playing at a university in the USA for the past year. Our defence did a great job limiting the angle, which allowed me to anticipate for the opponents’ crosses. The fact that we were able to score the first goal following a scoreless first half gave us momentum. I wish I could have delivered more passes to the attacking third in our build-up plays, so that is an aspect I need to improve in the future. We will be competing in the knockout stage against tougher opponents from here on, so I am very excited.

DF #12 TABATA Haruna (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies)
I had the impression that the USA were a very tough opponent, so I was able to gain a lot of confidence from the fact that we were able to advance through the group stage with a win against them. I was anticipating for my chance to score from a corner kick. When I scored the goal, Ibuki-san delivered a great pass for me, so I am glad I was able to make contact. We were threatened by our opponents’ long-balls, so we need to communicate better in order to keep clean sheets against stronger opponents. The competition will intensify in the knockout stage, but I will continue to make challenges to improve my performance on the pitch.

DF #16 KOYAMA Shinomi (Cerezo Osaka Sakai Ladies)
The fact that we were able to win through a tough group like this gives us great confidence moving forward. However, I personally am disappointed by the fact that I was not able to stop our opponent’s number seven (Alyssa THOMPSON) today. I could have prevented us from conceding a goal if I had called for support when I felt like I was beat. On the other hand, the goal I scored came from a well-executed play. I have been playing as a forward with my club, so I knew I was clear to take a shot when I controlled the ball because I had been training to score goals from set-pieces like that. There were a lot of areas we need to improve on, so we hope to make the necessary adjustments ahead of our next match. Enjoying the game is what matters the most, so we hope to condition ourselves in the best way possible and win our match.

MF #14 MATSUKUBO Manaka (JFA Academy Fukushima)
When I scored the goal, Yuzuki-san delivered a great pass and I tried to take a shot with my right foot, but I noticed that the opposing defender was chasing after me, so I changed my mind to hold the ball and slot the ball into the left hand corner instead. Although I was not able to get a good first touch, I was determined to capitalise on the opportunity, so I am glad it went in. We knew from our scouting report that there will be open spaces behind the opposing defence line, so I was anticipating to utilise my agility to exploit that space. However, I was too occupied playing defence in the first half, which disabled me from making runs upfront. The fact that I was able to score a goal gives me a great boost to my confidence, but I feel like there were many opportunities I could have scored, so I hope to become a player that can convert those chances. We will rest up and try to prepare ourselves in the best way possible ahead of our next match.

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2022™

Tournament Dates: Wed. 10 - Sun. 28 August 2022

Group Stage
1st Match: Thu. 11 August 14:00 vs U-20 Netherlands Women's National Team
2nd Match: Sun. 14 August 11:00 vs U-20 Ghana Women's National Team
3rd Match: Wed. 17 August 17:00 vs U-20 USA Women's National Team
*Time shown in local time

Tournament Information