The Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team) lost their second match of the 2018 Tournament of Nations against the Brazil Women’s National Team, in a match that took place at Hartford, Connecticut.

With the team entering the match with a two-day rest, Coach TAKAKURA Asako rotated six players from the starting line-up of their first match. MOMIKI Yuka returned from injury to play in the right midfield position, while KUNITAKE Aimi was named as the centre half, making here national team debut.

Japan’s opening shot came in the seventh minute, when MIURA Narumi struck a shot from distance. In the 10th minute, Momiki delivered a long ball to IWABUCHI Mana, who controlled the ball well and took a lobbing shot at goal. Japan earned a freekick at the edge of the penalty area in the 30th minute. The kicker, YOKOYAMA Kumi drove in a line drive into the near post where Kunitake made an effort but came short from scoring the goal. Japan continued to threaten the Brazil goal but failed to convert their chances as the match entered halftime scoreless.

The second half saw a different Brazil side, as they applied pressure aggressively. As Japan gradually lost their grip of the match, an unfortunate accident struck their side in the 59th minute. Kunitake collided with the goalkeeper IKEDA Sakiko when they were both making an effort to clear a cross delivered by the opposing side. Kunitake was forced to leave the match with an injury.

Eight minutes later, Brazil forced a turnover when SAMESHIMA Aya struggled to control the ball. DOKO Mayo, who came in as a substitute for the injured Kunitake made efforts to cover the situation, but the Brazilian ace, Marta converted this opportunity to score the opening goal. The goal came as the Japanese side was reorganising their defensive line.

In efforts to level the match, Coach Takakura brought in NAKAJIMA Emi and KAWASUMI Nahomi at the same time to initiate their attacks, but the Nadeshiko side struggled to create any threats. Conversely, it was Brazil who scored the second goal in the 89th minute.

Japan continued to make efforts to get back into the game as SAKAGUCHI Moeno delivered a cross following a short corner kick, three minutes into the additional time. MASUYA Rika made a diving effort to score a header to cut the deficit in half, but that was the end of their rally.

With the 1-2 loss to Brazil, Japan has now lost two consecutive matches in the tournament. Japan will now look for their first victory when they face the Australia Women’s National Team in four days.

Match Details

Coach and Players' Comments

TAKAKURA Asako, Coach of Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team)
The match could have gone either way, but we failed to convert our chances in the first half, while we conceded a goal from our own mistake. In competitions at this level, small things like that will ultimately decide the results, so we must heighten our level of concentration and intensity. We will face another strong team (Australia Women’s National Team, currently ranked 6th in the FIFA Rankings), but we cannot afford to lose three consecutive matches, so we will take a close look at our team and reorganise ourselves.

DF #22 SHIMIZU Risa (Nippon TV Beleza)
We managed to possess the ball and create chances in the first half, and that makes the two conceded goals that much regretful. Our team got rattled when the opponents came out aggressively in the second half. As a result, we couldn’t control the ball and add layers to our attacks. The way we conceded the goals are something we must improve on. I think the Australia Women’s National Team has gotten better over the recent matches, so we must not stay passive. We hope to display our style of football in our next match.

MF #16 SUMIDA Rin (Nippon TV Beleza)
I honestly feel that this was a match we should have won. The biggest reason we lost the match is the fact we couldn’t convert our many chances created in the first half. We also lacked creativity in the second half, when we were facing a tough stretch. I haven’t been playing at my club team recently, so I felt that this was a great opportunity for me, but I couldn’t showcase my intention and the team lost as well, so I am very disappointed.

FW #9 KAWASUMI Nahomi (Seattle Reign FC)
Following our lost to the USA in the first match, everyone was showing great intention to earn results in the second match, but we suffered another loss, and it is very disappointing. There are no matches we can afford to lose at the national team level, and we can’t make the excuse that we were experimenting or preparing for something. We must stay eager to win matches while we try new players and new systems.

Schedule

*Local Time, Japan time indicated within the parentheses
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

2018 Tournament of Nations

Tournament Dates: Thu. 26 July - Thu. 2 August 2018
Live broadcasting scheduled on NHK BS1
Information on live broadcast(Japanese website)
Tournament Information