On Saturday 22 July, the Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team) played their first group match of the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™ at Hamilton, New Zealand, where they defeated the Zambia Women's National Team 5-0.

Japan started the same line-up as their match against the Panama Women's National Team in the MS&AD Cup 2023 on Friday 14 July, with goalkeeper YAMASHITA Ayaka (INAC Kobe Leonessa) making her 60th cap with the national team. Team captain KUMAGAI Saki (AS Roma) was positioned at the heart of the three-back defence line, while NAGANO Fuka (Liverpool FC) and HASEGAWA Yui (Manchester City) anchored the midfield, with MIYAZAWA Hinata (Mynavi Sendai Ladies), FUJINO Aoba (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza), and TANAKA Mina (INAC Kobe Leonessa) placed in the attacking third. The players wore armbands of mourning to express their condolences to Ms. TOTTORI Fumiko, the mother of JFA Honorary Patron, Her Imperial Highness Princess Takamado, who passed away on 18 July.

The match started with Japan taking the initiative, with Fujino’s shot from distance striking the goal post in the 10th minute. Tanaka Mina converted a deflection inside the box in the 21st minute, which drove the 16,111 spectators into a frenzy, but this play was reviewed and ruled offside by VAR. With momentum on their side, Japan took the lead in the 43rd minute, when the ball was connected through SHIMIZU Risa (West Ham United) and Hasegawa, before Fujino delivered a cross from the right flank. It was Miyazawa, who made the run inside the box and applied the final touch to send the ball into the goal.

At the beginning of the second half, Tanaka Mina responded to a pass sent by ENDO Jun (Angel City FC) and fired a shot that found the back of the net, but she was once again called offside after the play was reviewed by VAR. Fujino drew a foul inside the box to earn a penalty kick in the 50th minute, but this play was overturned after VAR deemed that there was an offside violation just before the foul was committed.

Despite having two of her goals disallowed by VAR, Tanaka Mina continued to show her aggression in the attacking third, which led to her goal in the 55th minute, when the striker converted Endo’s cross to give Japan a 2-0 lead. With Miyazawa and Endo each adding a goal in the 62nd and 71st minutes, respectively, Japan entered the closing minutes holding a 4-0 lead.

Zambia tried to rally back by collecting the ball to their ace Barbra BANDA, but ISHIKAWA Rion (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies) and MINAMI Moeka (AS Roma) showed great composure to keep the Zambian offence at bay. After UEKI Riko (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza) converted a shot from the spot during additional time, Japan finished the game with a score of 5-0.

Miyazawa was named Player of the Match for her two goal performance and Japan now stands in first place in Group C.

The Nadeshiko Japan returned to their base camp in Christchurch on the following day, as they will continue to train ahead of their second group match against the Costa Rica Women's National Team, scheduled on Wednesday 26 July at Dunedin, New Zealand.

Coach and Players' Comments

IKEDA Futoshi, Head Coach (Nadeshiko Japan)
With this being our first match of the tournament, we really wanted to secure all three points, so we are very satisfied with this 5-0 victory. I am sure there were tons of people who watched this match in Japan, so I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude for all of their support. Zambia consist of players with great speed who can singlehandedly cause damage, so the fact that we were able to defend as a team and limit the space to neutralise their strength helped us earn this victory.

DF #3 MINAMI Moeka (AS Roma/Italy)
We kept reminding each other to stay composed when we were struggling to score the first goal, so it was very relieving to have a 1-0 lead at halftime. We now need to put today's match behind us and focus on the next match. As a defender, I am delighted that we were able to keep a clean sheet today, especially because (Kumagai) Saki-san has warned us about the challenges of playing the opening match of a tournament. It truly seemed like this was a win gained with a whole team effort because everyone on the bench was so encouraging.

MF #7 MIYAZAWA Hinata (Mynavi Sendai Ladies)
Even though we were possessing the ball, we struggled to score a goal for a while, and after seeing (Tanaka) Mina-san’s goals being disallowed by VAR, I made conscious efforts to stay onside. (Fujino) Aoba did a great job delivering a pass behind the opposing defence line, and I am really glad that I was able to keep my composure and capitalise on that opportunity. We still have many challenges ahead of us, so we will do our best to prepare for our next match.

FW #9 UEKI Riko (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza)
I entered the match as a substitute, so I focused on filling (Tanaka) Mina-san’s role, applying aggressive pressure from the frontline, and to score goals. Even before missing my first attempt from the spot, I had missed out on a one-on-one opportunity, so I was trying to reset my mind. In that sense, I feel fortunate that I was allowed to retake my spot kick. We will give our utmost effort to stay and compete in this tournament all the way to the end.

FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023™

Tournament duration: Thu. 20 July - Sun. 20 August 2023
Group stage:
Sat. 22 July 16:00 (Japan time) 1st match vs Zambia
Wed. 26 July 14:00 (Japan time) 2nd match vs Costa Rica
Mon. 31 July 16:00 (Japan time) 3rd match vs Spain
Tournament information