Ahead of the quarterfinal clash against Australia scheduled two days later in Edmonton at the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015, Nadeshiko Japan had training on 25 June at a practice site in the city.

After arriving from Vancouver yesterday, their first practice session in Edmonton began under strong sunshine in the high temperature.

From the warm-up open to media in the first 15 minutes, the Japanese players seemed tensed and apparently concentrated on the upcoming match.

In a game-style practice with doors closed, they elaborately went through tactics and set pieces, simulating the match against Australia.

As a heat wave hit Edmonton this week – located about 820 kilo meters inland and northeast from Vancouver, where Nadeshikos played against Netherlands in the first round of the knockout stage (Round of 16) on 23rd. Their Australia match on 27th (28th Japan Time) kicking off at 2 p.m. is expected to be played in the temperature of over 30 degrees.

The contest is held with three-day intervals after the last match, and the heat is one of the concerns. But VfL Wolfsburg forward OGIMI Yuki says, "It's going to be a key how well we can keep concentration." Nippon TV Beleza defender ARIYOSHI Saori also says, "We've just got to get used to this heat during today and tomorrow. We will keep it up."

On the other hand, "It's not as hot as Japan. I don't really care about it," says defender IWASHIMIZU Azusa (Nippon TV Beleza). "We've made it here, and all we need is just go all the way. The opponents played here (in their group stage.) In that sense, our challenge is how we can cope with this environment. We want to create better situations than they do."

Australia sealed second place in their group with a 1-1 draw in their third match against Sweden in Edmonton. Then, Australia made a quarterfinal berth when they beat Brazil 1-0 at the first round of the knockout stage on 21 June in East Coast, Moncton.

Japan and Australia faced each other twice at the AFC Women's Asian Cup in May last year. Iwashimizu led her side to a 1-0 victory with a goal in their second matchup in the Final, but she says she does not really remember the match. "It was a matchup at a different tournament. We need to go through what their strength is once again." She braces her nerves.

Players' Comments

DF #3   IWASHIMIZU Azusa (Nippon TV Beleza)
Australia should play good football because they won through over strong teams. I think the win over Brazil gave them confidence. That's a threat. But we also made it this far. We've got to be strong-minded at the end. The side who have stronger mindset will win the match, so we don't want to give up on that point. During the match, we will try to determine what the opponents want to do and do not want us to do, and will defend with a proper distance like the Netherlands match.

FW #17   OGIMI Yuki (VfL Wolfsburg/Germany)
I don't have any fatigue left from the training, and the team's mood is good. We won the last match in a great way, and what we need to do is becoming clear. We have become able to go to the next step. We kept the line compact with a good distance between players and were able to connect to good attacks.

The Australia match will be in a hot weather, and we may want to consider how wisely we spend our energy. But this is the World Cup. At any moment I don’t think we can afford to save our energy for later. It's going to be a key how well we can keep concentration in the heat.

MF #13   UTSUGI Rumi (Montpellier HSC/France)
After the Netherlands match, Miyama said, "The knockout stage is starting at this point." The tournament got one more match (in the knockout stage) compared to the last one. We'd better play with such a mindset and will brace our nerves once again. The key in the Australia match will be how well we can take away their strength, and we will keep up improving our shared understanding.

Overseas players have an ability to stake their fate on when it comes to the "point." Depending on your mindset, good players can lose their touch, and unskilled players can be better. I think it's true especially at a tournament like this. I always do my best even though I have become a Japanese international. That's not changed since I was a kid. I want to take advantage of such strong mind of mine for a victory.

FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015

Quarter-Final
Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women’s National Team) vs Australia Women's National Team
Sun. 28 June - 5:00 (Japan time)

More information