Ahead of the AFC Women’s Asia Cup, which also serves as a qualifier for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, Nadeshiko Japan won the Nadeshiko Japan World Match, the last friendly match before the Asian Cup. Goals by Takase Megumi and Sugasawa Yuika gave them a 2-1 narrow win over New Zealand.

Forward Kira Chinatsu, who earned her first call-up before the game, goalkeeper Yamane Erina and midfielder Kawamura Yuri, who both are relatively inexperienced on the international level started the match. Kawamura played as a centre back alongside Iwashimizu Azusa, who won 100 caps in the warm-up.
The game, a test for the opening match of the Asian Cup against Australia, started well for Nadeshiko japan as Kira dribbled into the penalty box and made a shot early on and Kawasumi shot from a distance in the 16th minute.

Nadeshiko tried to attack the space behind the defense line and to make side attacks with Miyama Aya and Kawasumi Nahomi building up their offense, and opened the score in the 40th minute. Takase ran into the space behind the line, neatly controlling a pin-point cross from Miyama, and found the net with composure. Takase scored for the first time since the Algarve Cup tie against the United States in March 2012.

Nadeshiko Japan have had a short period of time to work together in the training camp since 5 May, and they could not show good chemistry due to the lack of time ,suffering from opponent’s high pressure defence.

New Zealand, who has more players playing abroad than before, tried to equalize with Hannah Wilkinson being a driving force in their offence, and made the score 1-1 in the 62nd minute. When defender Ariyoshi Saori poorly cleared a cross from the right side, midfielder Kirsty Yallop picked up the ball and found the net from a distance.

Midfielder Sawa Homare and Defender Norimatsu Ruka appeared as a substitute in the 58th minute and Norimatsu played as a left full-back, making international debut. In the 71st minute, Maruyama Karina and Sugasawa entered the match as two forwards and in the 86th minute, substitute midfielder Naramoto Hikaru also made a debut.

With just four minutes remaining, Nadeshiko broke the deadlock. Miyama’s corner kick found Sugasawa and she converted it with a header.

Nadeshiko Japan will make a trip to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, the venue for the AFC Women’s Asia Cup on 9 May. The tournament will be held from 14 to 25 May and five out of eight teams acquire a berth for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Comments From Head Coach & Players

SASAKI Norio, Head Coach
We scored goals in the first half by taking initiative of the match and we won 2-1, but we also made many mistakes especially when we were about to move up our attacks. That’s something we need to get better at. In the second half we gave that initiative away as we couldn’t really play together both offensively and defensively. In terms of simulating the match against Australia, we did good job against their set-pieces, their length, their powerful shots and long feeds. But New Zealand is capable of good ball movement, and our defence didn’t do well against that. We will study this match and work with players on how to get better.

MIYAMA Aya(Okayama Yunogo Belle)
Considering this was the first match to play with this group of players, getting a win and at least achieving what we were supposed to achieve give us confidence. But there are things to look back and correct including the goal allowed. Our offence still has room for improvement. We want to attack the goal more efficiently with less unnecessary touches. We also need to attack the goal by breaking down the opposition’s defence completely or at least attack within the process of breaking it down. We want to do these two things better. Our defence controlled the line well in some stretches. We will watch the film and study how we allowed the goal today. We should have watched out for the long shots. I think we could have stopped that.

TAKASE Megumi (INAC Kobe)
The stadium gave us a good atmosphere, and we got a good result with this new group of players. We will understand each other and understand what we do as a team more, so we will get better little by little. But there are still things that we don’t do well, so we will work on those details. Talking about the goal I scored, when Miyama got the ball, I tried to move away to create space for her, then the pass came to me just the way I wanted. That was a nice feed and I could calmly score it. I haven’t been able to score when I got opportunities to play, even though the number of them may be limited. I was frustrated about myself. Today I could score a goal and it means a lot to me. I will keep playing aggressively.

KIRA Chinatsu(Urawa Reds Ladies)
I was nervous, but my teammates kept talking to me so I could play aggressively and I could get involved in the team’s ball movement as well. When the two forwards move closer, we often get called an offside, so I tried to change the pace. I quickly moved from defence to offence and I think that led to a goal for the team. But I have to work harder and score goals. Down the stretch, I could start enjoying playing out there, and I wanted to play a little more. I could feel the opposition’s size and quick pressure on the ball. Our real challenge starts from here. In the Asian Cup, I will leave everything I have on the pitch and score a goal.

SAKAGUCHI Mizuho(Nippon Television Beleza)
There are many new players. So I was thinking the veterans must show the leadership and let young players play without feeling extra pressure. In fact there were players who got on the pitch of the national team for the first time, but I think they didn’t feel too much pressure. We veterans are responsible for what we couldn’t do well as a team. Maybe it was not a good football, but getting a win is good. In the Asian Cup, winning will be the most important, so whoever is on the pitch, however good or bad we play, we have got to win. That will be our attitude.

IWASHIMIZU Azusa (Nippon Television Beleza)
I never expected that I would reach the record of 100 matches. (It started raining during the match.) While it was raining, we allowed a goal at a bad moment. We couldn’t move up the ball, and they owned that stretch. In order to turn it around and regain our momentum in such a situation, we need to discuss and get better. Our line control needs to get better. We have to work together better when we move it up and down. When we play against our Asian rivals, we need to play differently between when we play against Australia and play against Korea Republic or China. So we need to change our mindset after the match against Australia as well. But more than anything, we have got to play a good football and get a win against Australia and get our momentum going.

NAOMOTO Hikaru(Urawa Reds Ladies)
It was my first Nadeshiko Japan match and I was nervous at first. I didn’t play long, but I could play without hesitating. I got on the pitch in that kind of situation (as the score being tied 1-1), so I was trying to shoot it if I got a chance. I got one shot, so that was good. It was good to play the side (which is different from the normal position), because I could play without feeling too much pressure. I personally want to keep playing hard without thinking too much in the Asian Cup as well.

Tony READINGS,Head Coach
We can play better, so this result is disappointing. In the first half, Japan kept possessions, and one set-piece in the second half beat us. When you play against a quality team like Japan, you have to be careful of every single play. We learned that today and we found things that we need to improve. Japan is very good at developing players. New players who played today were very good, too. They won the U-17 World Cup and they will get even better to remain as one of the best teams in the world.

Schedule

※From 13 May　The time shows local time.