NEWS

Short-handed Japan downed Paraguay 7-2 to win Group C in the FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup in New Zealand on Wednesday.

Defender Natsuki Kishikawa, midfielder Haruka Hamada and midfielder Saori Takahashi each scored twice while defender Marika Ohshima struck once.
Japan will play Group D runners-up England in the quarterfinals on Sunday in Hamilton.
Japan, who had already secured their place in the next stage, made several changes to their lineup and created many chances.
Japan faced a setback in the 18th minute when defender Minori Chiba received her marching orders after bringing down an opponent in the box. Jacqueline Gonzalez converted the spot kick in the 20th minute to put Paraguay ahead.
But in the 36th minute, Kishikawa headed in a Yoko Tanaka corner to equalize, and four minutes later, Ohshima slotted home a Takahashi pass to put Japan in front. Hamada made it 3-1 in the 43rd minute.
After the break, the Japanese girls dominated the game, and Hamada found the target again in the 52nd minute.
Paraguay replied three minutes later through midfielder Gloria Villamayor.
But the South Americans went down to 10 players when defender Paola Genes received her second yellow card in the 71st minute.
Two minutes later, Kishikawa fired home a free-kick to help Japan regain the momentum and Takahashi scored from a Hamada feed in the 83rd minute. The Nippon TV Menina midfielder completed the scoring for Japan with her second strike one minute from time.
“We had a red card, but I’m happy that the rest of the players played positively,” Japan women’s Under-17 coach Hiroshi Yoshida said.
“But I’m not completely satisfied with the way we played. We should have done better but scored thanks to fatigue and mistakes from our opponents. In the quarterfinals, we’d like to play our style of football.”
Yoshida added, “The reason why we finished the group without any losses is that our players shared the ideas of attacking and defending well in the team. We’d like to continue playing attractive football.”
In the other game, the United States were held to a 1-1 draw by France but finished second on goal difference over the French side after tying on four points. Paraguay were bottom of the table after three straight defeats.