On Tuesday 13 November, the U-17 Japan Women’s National Team played their first group stage match of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Uruguay 2018 against the U-17 Brazil Women’s National Team.

Entering their first match of the tournament, the Japanese side seemed to be a little nervous as they made numbers of unforced errors. In contrast, Brazil came out attacking with great aggression as they utilised their fullbacks to attack the flanks. However, with the help of their goalkeeper OHBA Shu’s superb saves and the interceptions made by ITO Sara, Japan kept the score intact against the Brazilian side. In the 13th minute, OSAWA Haruka received the throw-in delivered by YOSHIZUMI Warai, before penetrating the penalty area and sending a cross towards the centre, but the shot taken by KAMIYA Chiina went just wide of the goal.

Brazil, who entered the World Cup as the leader of the South American qualifiers, created many opportunities from the early minutes of the match, but started to slow down after the 30th minute mark. With the match seeing Japan gradually taking over the possession game, another opportunity came towards Japan in the 32nd minute. Team captain MATSUDA Shino delivered a ball towards the goal from a free kick, which GOTO Wakaba connected with her right foot, but her attempt went wide of the target. As time progressed, Japan picked up their pace as they created their momentum through their ball movements and started to utilise the width of the field effectively.

While Brazil started to show signs of fatigue in the second half, Japan created more opportunities by combining their dribbles and passing. In the 62nd minute, a cross delivered from the left side was fumbled by the opposing goalkeeper. TAKIZAWA Chise collected the loose ball before passing it to KINOSHITA Momoka, who struck a shot from mid-range, but her attempt came short from capturing the goal.

In efforts to break the deadlock, Coach IKEDA Futoshi brought in YAMAMOTO Yuzuki and TANAKA Tomoko in the 63rd and 80th minute respectively. Japan showcased their great endurance as they picked up their pace in offence. Yamamoto gave Brazil a hard time in defence as she made continuous runs upfront, while Tanaka created opportunities, but the Brazilian side who conceded only three goals at the South American qualifiers was too solid to crack. Japan came short from finding the back of the net as the match ended in a scoreless draw. Although Japan couldn’t capture a goal against Brazil, they still managed to earn a precious point in their first match.

MORITA Misaki was named as the player of the match.

U-17 Japan Women’s National Team will now face the U-17 South Africa Women’s National Team in their second group stage match on Friday 16 November.

Players' Comments

GK #1 OHBA Shu (JFA Academy Fukushima)
Although we couldn’t earn the full three points, we still managed to keep a clean sheet with a total team effort. We faced some tough stretches in the first half, but we were able to find our rhythm in the second half. However, the Brazilian players were capable of striking back at any given moment, so I kept myself focused to take care of the space behind our defence line. It helped mightily that our players upfront worked hard to keep away our opponents from playing the long balls. We will prepare well ahead of our next match to perform better than today and win the match with another clean sheet.

MF #7 MATSUDA Shino (Nippon TV Menina)
With the match being the first match of the tournament, we entered the match very nervous and our plays were very stiff. Midway into the first half, we finally got to move the ball around and take control of the match. However, we laced quality in the final third. We knew that Brazil had great speed and power, so we were fully prepared to defend against their long balls. We still have many matches ahead of us, so we need to keep our heads up and prepare for the next match so that we can earn three points there.

MF #19 MORITA Misaki (Okayama Sakuyo High School)
I am a little disappointed because I personally feel like I could have created more goal-scoring opportunities if I had attacked more aggressively. It was our first match and I played a bit too passive. I feel like my performance was at about 50 to 60 percent. Although I am not satisfied with my own performance, I am glad we managed to fight through as a team. We will strive to earn three points in our next match and I personally would like to get myself more involved in our plays upfront.

Schedule

*Local time
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Uruguay 2018

Tournament Dates: Tue. 13 November - Sat. 1 December 2018
First Match: Tue. 13 November 14:00 (Wed. 14 November 2:00 Japan time) vs Brazil
TV Broadcasting: Live at Fuji Television NEXT

Tournament Information