On Sunday 26 August, one day after their quarterfinal match, the Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team) held a training session to condition themselves.

Once all players were gathered on the pitch Coach TAKAKURA Asako spoke to the team.
“You did a great job winning the quarterfinal, but there will be more tough matches to come. From here on we will face matches with two days’ rest and it will undoubtedly take a physical toll on us. Although Korea Republic will have one extra day to prepare themselves, that does not matter for us. We just have to fight as a team, just like what we have been doing thus far. So, for now, our priority is to get our conditions back.”

In this tournament the Nadeshiko Japan will face five matches in 16 days. In order to succeed in such tournament structure, it is essential to maintain their conditions throughout the given schedule. Especially in this tournament where they are only allowed to have an 18-player roster, which is less than tournaments hosted by FIFA and AFC allows. As Coach Takakura has been mentioning, “We don’t want to be a team that relies on one player,” the team has been striving to maintain a constant quality regardless of who plays on the pitch. And in order to make that happen, every player must keep their best form at all times.

The players who stared in the quarterfinal match against the Korea DPR Women's National Team, for the exception of TANAKA Mina, were seen going through routines of stretching and walking, then returning to the athletes’ village to take an ice bath to recovery their body.

The remaining eight players, including Tanaka, SUGASAWA Yuika, and MOMIKI Yuka who were involved in the substitutions, went through a thorough warmup routine followed by a tag game to loosen their body. The team was then seen playing a game with four goals, while pair of players held hands to defend those goals. The session concluded with a shooting drill as the players were given the opportunity to work up a sweat.

The semi-final match of the Asian Games against the Korea Republic Women's National Team will kick-off at 18:00 Japan time on Tuesday 28 August.

Players' Comments

MF #15 SAKAGUCHI Moeno (Albirex Niigata Ladies)
In our match against Korea DPR, we saw scenes where we got pressured on the flanks during our build-ups and were forced to turnover the ball to allow the opponents to counter us. We must be more composed and make our decisions quicker. We also must position ourselves so that we don’t get caught alone. Although my play contributed to giving up a penalty kick to our opponents and made the match tougher on us, our offence did a great job to convert the opportunities while the entire team showed great persistence to defend the goal. I am glad we won the match. In our semi-final match against Korea Republic will certainly present us with a tough challenge, but we will prepare ourselves well ahead of the match.

MF #16 SUMIDA Rin (Nippon TV Beleza)
It was our first time facing Korea DPR since losing to them at the E-1 Football Championship last year, so I am glad we managed to earn the win to advance to the semi-final. Our next match against Korea Republic will be another tough match, but if we can show a persistent effort to defend the goal while creating numbers of chances, we should be able to win the match. I personally would like to showcase effective through balls that can initiate our attacks. I really want to win this match so that we can advance to the final.

Schedule

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

The 18th Asian Games 2018 Jakarta Palembang

Tournament Dates:Sat. 18 August - Sun. 2 September 2018

【Women's】Semi-final
Tue. 28 August 18:00 [Japan time] vs Korea Republic

Tournament Information