NEWS

The Japan women’s Under-19 side advanced to the semifinals of the AFC Women’s Under-19 Championship after drawing 1-1 with hosts China in their third and final group match on Wednesday in Wuhan, China.

Japan finished second in Group B and will face the winners of Group A – either DPR Korea or Korea Republic – in the semifinals on Wednesday at the same venue, Hankou Sports Culture Stadium.
The Asian competition serves as a qualifier for the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup, with the top three teams in the tournament earning a berth in the world championship.
The young Nadeshiko, who only needed a point to advance to the semifinals, struggled against the home team in the first half.
China passed around the ball well and threatened the Japanese side in the 41st minute when Song Sicheng beat her marker, but her shot was well saved by Japan goalkeeper Erina Yamane.
Japan brought on forward Manami Takase after the break in an attempt to regain their momentum, and the move soon paid off.
Four minutes into the half, Player-of-the-Match Mami Iwabuchi received a ball from the left flank, turned to beat a China defender and fired into the Chinese goal.
The goal helped the young Japanese girls to rediscover their pace and they then went on the attack.
But China replied in the 84th minute when An Ning struck home a loose ball following a corner.
“Our players looked fresh after they rested from the previous game, and they worked hard in attack and defense,” said Japan coach Norio Sasaki.
“However, they looked so timid in the first half that I had to get them going at halftime, and they played better in the second half.”
“As we have three days before the next game, we’d like to fix our problems in training and put out our strongest lineup,” he added.
Iwabuchi commented, “We had to win, as we didn’t know what was going on in the other group game. I wanted to do something for the team as my teammates were working hard in defense. Whoever we face next, we’d like to play our style of football and win the game.”
Australia beat Chinese Taipei 4-0 to finish third, one point behind Japan. Chinese Taipei ended at the bottom of the table with no points.