AFC Women's Futsal Championship Malaysia 2015 vs Vietnam Women's Futsal National Team
2015-9-21 (Mon.) - 14:00　Playing Time 20min.×2
Nilai Indoor Stadium (Negri Sembilan, Malaysia)

Japan Women's Futsal National Team   4-2 (3-0, 1-2)   Vietnam Women's Futsal National Team

Scores
5'   KICHIBAYASHI Chikage (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
10'   HIGASHIYAMA Maiko (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
12'   TAKAO Akari (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
24'   KICHIBAYASHI Chikage (Japan Women's Futsal National Team)
34'   Goal against (Vietnam Women's Futsal National Team)
39'   Goal against (Vietnam Women's Futsal National Team)

Line-ups
GK: YAMASHITA Miyuki
FP: HOTTA Eriko, KATO Saori, SAKATA Mutsumi, NAKAJIMA Shiori

Substitutes
GK: YAMAMOTO Ayaka
FP: AMISHIRO Anna, HIGASHIYAMA Maiko, KICHIBAYASHI Chikage, SEKINADA Minako, KITAGAWA Kana, TAKAO Akari, SEKI Kaori, UEMOTO Yuna

All players except for GK YAMAMOTO Ayaka played in the match.

Match Report

Japan Women's Futsal National Team had their opening match at the inaugural AFC Women's Futsal Championship Malaysia 2015. Representing the players who assembled in their locker room before the match, captain NAKAJIMA Shiori said, "We are so pleased to play the first-ever Asia's official futsal competition. We will do our best to win this memorable tournament."

To pay tribute to late Dettmar CRAMER, who passed away the other day, the squad stepped on to the pitch wearing a black armband.

The match started with Japan's kick-off in front of passionate support from fans from Japan at Nilai Indoor Stadium with a great atmosphere. Just after 5 minutes, Japan earned a penalty through a Vietnamese player's foul before KICHIBAYASHI Chikage converted it for the opening goal. After that Japan picked up their pace and created a number of chances.

In the 10th minute, HIGASHIYAMA Maiko responded to a clearance in front of Vietnamese’ goal to head it into the net. In the 12th minute, TAKAO Akari met a deflection with a first-time strike to add one more after SAKATA Mutsumi's effort on the goal line hit off the post. Japan did not allow any goal with solid defence until the first half came into the end.

Kichibayashi scored her second goal of the day in the 24th minute, but after the goal Japan struggled to play their game against Vietnam's pressure. And in the 34th and 39th minutes, Vietnam scored goals. The score remained the same until the final whistle without any additional goal.

Japan take on Thailand in the second match of the group league tomorrow. It will be an extremely important match for Japan to get through the group league.

Coach and Players' Comments

ARIHARA Masaaki, Coach
It's big we got three points in the significant opening match that gave us high pressure. Until we made it 4-0, we were able to play our game with solid performance even in a tensed feeling. As we were replacing players during the match, it gave us a big learning experience, how we could play when we got in trouble by allowing fouls or when the flow of the game was on the opponents’ side.

We have a good rivalry in Asia with tomorrow's opponents Thailand. And it will be very difficult. We will take advantage of what we experienced so far to play a good game.

HOTTA Eriko (SAICOLO)
With saying to each other "There is no easy match. We all pull ourselves together," we came out for the important opening match. It was good that we scored goals early and won the match in the end. But the opponents kept fighting with playing physically until the end. So I felt we needed to make a decision in various ways depending on the situation at every point of the match.

In tomorrow's match against Thailand, we will take advantage of what we learned today and give it our all to get three points, committing ourselves until the end.

KATO Saori (Bardral Urayasu Las Bonitas)
Finally the tournament started off, and I was able to play with a good tension and various feelings. The team's mood was also good, and I was able to do my best when I was on the pitch and boost the team up when sitting on the bench. It was good we grabbed three points for the first thing.

We still have a lot to improve, but we will communicate with each other well and try to improve them. We gain confidence from what went well and what we did well. We will head for the next match with a stronger determination to make tomorrow better than today.

SAKATA Mutsumi (SWH Ladies Futsal Club)
I've waited so long for the opener of the AFC Women's Futsal Championship. I was very emotional when I thought about being able to play on this pitch with expectations and support from a lot of people on my back. Above all, I'm happy we got three points, which was our top objective. We all were a little nervous at the early stage of the first half and in the second half we had some tough stretches allowing the opponents to grab their pace.

But we were able to win the match in the end. Sorting out what we were successful at and what we learned to improve out of today's match, we will try to grow step by step in each match. Even though the tournament is taking place in Malaysia, people came from Japan to support us. That's really encouraging. Thank you for your continuous support no matter where you are, here in Malaysia or in Japan.

1st Match vs Vietnam Highlight

Internet Live Distribution

The group stage second match of the “AFC Women's Futsal Championship Malaysia 2015” between the Japan Women's Futsal National Team and the Thailand Women's Futsal National Team, which will kick-off at 14:00 on Tuesday 22 September (at 15:00 on Tuesday 22 September Japan Time), will be broadcast live on the Internet by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).

*The broadcasting image cannot be guaranteed and depends on the condition of the Internet or the viewing environment.

Schedule

*Local Time
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condtion, the weather, etc.

AFC Women's Futsal Championship Malaysia 2015 Group Rosters
GroupＡ Iran, Malaysia, Uzbekistan, Hong Kong
GroupＢ Japan, China PR, Thailand, Vietnam