AFC U-16 Women’s Championship  Group League 2nd Match vs U-16 Chinese Taipei Women’s National Team
2015-11-7 (Sat.) - 15:00   Playing Time: 90min. (45min.×2)
Xinhua Road Stadium (Wuhan, China)

U-16 Japan Women’s National Team   6-0 (5-0, 1-0)   U-16 Chinese Taipei Women’s National Team

Scores
18'   ENDO Jun (U-16 Japan Women’s National Team)
24'   KANEKATSU Rio (U-16 Japan Women’s National Team)
31'   MIYAZAWA Hinata (U-16 Japan Women’s National Team)
38'   MIYAZAWA Hinata (U-16 Japan Women’s National Team)
40'   TAKAHASHI Hana (U-16 Japan Women’s National Team)
88'   KOJIMA Seira (U-16 Japan Women’s National Team)

Line-ups
GK: YONEZAWA Moeka
DF: USHIJIMA Riko, ONO Nana, TAKAHIRA Miyu, KANEKATSU Rio
MF: ISERI Natsuki, NAGANO Fuka, KANNO Oto, MIYAZAWA Hinata
FW: TAKAHASHI Hana, ENDO Jun

Substitutes
GK: KOGURE Chiaki, TANAKA Momoko
DF: WAKISAKA Reina, KANEHIRA Risa, ICHINOSE Chisato, TAKARADA Saori, MORINAKA Hina
MF: YONEI Honoka, KARAHASHI Mayu
FW: UEKI Riko, KOJIMA Seira, MIURA Haruka

HT   NAGANO Fuka → KANEHIRA Risa
62'   ISERI Natsuki → KOJIMA Seira

Match Report

U-16 Japan Women's National Team played against Chinese Taipei at the second group stage match of the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship China 2015. 

The temperature was five degrees Celsius and winds were cold, when the match kicked off at 3 p.m. Japan put nine different players on the pitch from the starters of the first Uzbekistan match. Although they took the initiative from the beginning, it took long to break down the opponents’ stellar defence and finish offence with shots.

After passing the 15-minute mark, finally the ball started moving in Japan’s favour. In the 18th minute, a through ball from defender TAKAHIRA Miyu was met by forward MIYAZAWA Hinata, and forward ENDO Jun took the last pass to put it home for the opener. Then in the 24th minute, midfielder KANNO Oto intercepted a pass, dribbled up the ball and fed midfielder KANEKATSU Rio, who got taken down in the penalty box for a penalty opportunity.

Kanekatsu composedly converted it to extend the lead to two goals. Japan kept attacking aggressively and had Miyazawa in the 31st and 38th minutes and forward TAKAHASHI Hana in the 40th score their own before finishing the first half with the big 5-0 lead.

In the second half, defender KANEHIRA Risa replaced midfielder NAGANO Fuka and took the defensive midfielder position. While Japan continued initiating their offences, Chinese Taipei’s defence in front of goal was too stable to be broken through. Japan’s tenacious efforts finally produced a result when substitute forward KOJIMA Seira scored in the 88th minute. The end result was 6-0, which moved Japan on to the semi-final. 

Coach and Players' Comments

KUSUNOSE Naoki, Coach
We played this match with replacing nine players from the lineup against Uzbekistan in the first match. The players showed some nervousness, but as we kept our possessions, we could play the match with our rhythm. Although we scored five goals in the first half, as the opponents started recovering, we couldn’t finish many of our attacks with shots in the second half and we were held with only one goal.

We need to improve ourselves in terms of how we play against the opponents like them and how we share our priorities according to opponents’ reactions. We want to improve our unity and keep working hard for our goal which is to get a ticket to the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

FW #25  ENDO Jun (JFA Academy Fukushima)
I was disappointed that I couldn’t get to play in the first match. So in the second match, I got on to the pitch, determined to score goals and make sure for us to win. It was the first match for me, so I was nervous and anxious a little. But my teammates calmed me down, and I could keep running throughout the 90 minutes. It was good that I could score my first goal, too. But there were more opportunities for me to score but I couldn’t take advantage of them. So I want to improve that by the next match.

The third match is finally against Korea DPR. We think it will be tougher than the past two matches. We will keep showing what we are good at, and also try not to be outplayed by their physicality. 

FW #9  TAKAHASHI Hana (Urawa Reds Ladies Youth)
I was nervous because it was my first match in this tournament, but I was strongly determined to score goals myself. We took the control of the match and created many opportunities, but there were many plays we failed to finish. For the next Korea DPR match and matches after that, and for winning the championship, we will do our very best to keep being vocal to each other and make plays that opponents don’t want us to make. 

Schedule

Note: The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

AFC U-16 Women’s Championship China 2015 

Japan is in Group B. Group A includes Chaina PR, Thailand, Iran, Korea Republic.
Top two teams will qualify for FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Jordan 2016.