The U-19 Japan Women's National Team played their first match of the SUD Ladies Cup 2023 on Tuesday 16 May against the U-19 Cameroon Women's National Team.

The two teams engaged in a back-and-forth battle from the early minutes due to the strong winds that were blowing into the stadium and making it difficult to control the ball. The deadlock was broken in the 39th minute, when TANIKAWA Momoko (JFA Academy Fukushima) converted a free kick with a powerful shot to put Japan in the lead. With goals scored by HIWATARI Moka (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Menina) and KURIMOTO Yuka (Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Girls U-18) in the 55th and 64th minutes respectively, Japan walked away with a 3-0 shutout victory to start the tournament.

SUD Ladies Cup 2023

Date: Tue. 16 May, 18:00 (local time)
Venue: PARC DES SPORTS

U-19 Japan Women's National Team 3-0 (1-0, 2-0) U-19 Cameroon Women's National Team

<Scores>
39' TANIKAWA Momoko (JFA Academy Fukushima)
55' HIWATARI Moka (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Menina)
64' KURIMOTO Yuka (Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Girls U-18)

<Starting Line-up>
GK
21  KASHIMA Akari (JFA Academy Fukushima)
DF
16  NAKATANI Rina (Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Ladies)
17  KOGA Toko (JFA Academy Fukushima)
22  SHIRAGAKI Uno (Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Ladies)
 2   KASHIMURA Nana (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza)
MF
 8   TSUNODA Fuka (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Urawa Reds Ladies)
 5   HAYASHI Manaka (MVLA Soccer Club)
14  TANIKAWA Momoko (JFA Academy Fukushima)
24  HIWATARI Moka (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Menina)
13  INOSE Yuko (Mynavi Sendai Ladies)
FW
 4   NEBU Momoko (Yamato Sylphid)

<Substitutions>
HT
13  INOSE Yuko → 15  KURIMOTO Yuka (Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Girls U-18)
65'
 4   NEBU Momoko → 12  SASAI Chinari (Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara)
 5   HAYASHI Manaka (MVLA Soccer Club) → 9  UJIHARA Rihona (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Beleza)
77'
22  SHIRAGAKI Uno → 6  SHIRASAWA Yurie (Albirex Niigata Ladies)

<Unused substitutes>
 1   OKUMA Akane (JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies)
 3   YONEDA Hiromi (Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Ladies)
 7   SAKAKIBARA Kotono (AC Nagano Parceiro Ladies)
11  OSHIMA Haruna (Omiya Ardija Ventus)
18  IWASAKI Uruha (Nojima Stella Kanagawa Sagamihara Due)
20  OGAWA Yuki (JEF United Ichihara Chiba Ladies)
23  YOSHIDA Rui (Cerezo Osaka Yanmar Girls U-18)

Players' Comments

MF #13 INOSE Yuko (Mynavi Sendai Ladies)
I am glad that we were able to start the tournament with a win. Strong winds made for a challenging match, but I believe all the players and staff gave it their all to come out on top. Personally, it felt like this match exposed my shortcomings, as I kept on making passive decisions on the pitch. We have two more matches left, and despite having to play under a tight schedule, we hope to improve ourselves through the competition and strive to take home the title.

MF #14 TANIKAWA Momoko (JFA Academy Fukushima)
I was feeling excited to be given the opportunity to represent my country in a competitive tournament like this. Playing in this wind was extremely stressful, but I believe we did a great job communicating and managing the situation to the best of our abilities. I really glad that we were able to start the tournament with a win. However, we are not satisfied with our performance, both as a team and as individuals, so we hope to raise the overall level of our plays through this tournament. In order to win the title, each and every match is going to be crucial for us, so we will do our best to prepare ourselves in between matches.

MF #24 HIWATARI Moka (Nippon TV Tokyo Verdy Menina)
I feel relieved that we were able to win the first match, especially because this is our first tournament as a team. Personally, I am happy that I was able to score a goal to help the team win. However, this match also reminded me of the need to improve my dribbling and shooting skills, so I hope to make the most of this tournament experience to advance my skills in those areas. We hope to aim higher and win in the final two matches because I think the team has a lot of room for growth as well.

SUD Ladies Cup 2023

Tournament Date: Tue. 16 - Sun. 21 May 2023
Tournament Information

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