The second round of matches of the 2015 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup will be held on Tuesday 4 August in Wuhan, China. Nadeshiko Japan, who will play against the Korea Republic women's national team, held their final practice session prior to the match on Monday 3 August.

Korea Republic beat China PR 1-0 in their first match, and are currently sitting in second place on goal difference. They got through to the Round of 16 in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada, and now rank 17th in the latest FIFA World Ranking.

Japan lost to Korea Republic in the East Asian Cup in Korea in 2013, in which JI SO YUN (Chelsea Ladies FC/England) scored two goals. Although JI SO YUN is not participating in this championship, Japanese players pointed out about their opponent: “the level  of individual skill is very high and players on the wings are excellent as well. We need to keep our eyes on them.”

Nadeshiko Japan, on the other hand, started their training session in the late afternoon after the meeting. The first 15 minutes were open to the media, and then the players held a closed session, in which they checked combinations and set pieces in a mini game. They held an approximately one-hour-and-a-half practice session.

SASAKI, the coach, commented prior to the match against Korea Republic: “so far we learned through our good experiences and mistakes, which have had a strong impact on us. We’d like to improve ourselves through each game. I hope that each player will try hard without any fear of failure.”

KYOKAWA Mai, who played at wing back in the game against Korea DPR, but was substituted later, said about the team’s current condition: “we discussed about our defensive line, including risk management in defence. I think we improved on our tasks as a team, so that we won’t make the same mistake ever again. We’d like to win the coming game.”

The match against Korea Republic will kick-off at 18:20 (19:20 Japan Time) on 4 August. Then the final match will be against the host country China PR after a three-day break.

Coach and Players' Comments

SASAKI Norio, Coach (Nadeshiko Japan/Japan Women's National Team)
Through our experience in the first game against Korea DPR, we learned that we needed to improve risk management and the way we lead the game. I’d like to show our improvement in the match against Korea Republic. We’d like to improve ourselves through each game. Korea Republic are good at building-up, holding excellent players up front on both wings.

Besides all that, I believe the team must have got some confidence after the Women's World Cup in Canada. Although the weather is very tough here, this championship brings us a good opportunity to play against good rival teams. I hope that each player will try hard without any fear of failure and put in an impressive performance, so that they will be on the pitch for the next Nadeshiko Japan game.

DF #14   TANAKA Asuna (INAC Kobe)
As Kobe, where I usually train, is also very hot, I have adjusted well to this heat. I’m trying to communicate a lot with my teammates. We need to discuss many things in the training session, and I’d also like to share my experience of the World Cup.

I was on the bench for the first game, observing the team, and I found the risk management in attack is one of our problems, as we lost goals through counter-attacks. We need to stay vocal, so that the defensive midfielders and the defensive line can support more. I’d like to build-up in a better way, encouraging my teammates to defend well.

Korea Republic have individual skills, playing strongly near the ball. We have to keep our eyes on their techniques. I’d like to win the match for the next stage.  

Schedule