NEWS

Japan got off to a good start in their opening match of the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup by beating Canada 2-0 on Thursday at Municipal de la Florida Stadium in Santiago, Chile.

Michi Goto scored the opener in the 28th minute and Asuna Tanaka added another in the 40th minute.
Japan, making their first appearance since the 2002 edition, attacked hard from the beginning and put pressure on their opponents.
Asano Nagasato hit a mid-range shot in the fourth minute, while Tatsuko Hara made a similar attempt in the seventh minute as the Ladies in Blue quickly got into their rhythm.
The Canadians frustrated Japan with their tough defending, but their defense was breached with nearly half an hour gone when Goto took a ball from Nagasato on the left, dribbled through the Canadian backline and fired home the opening goal.
Goto set up the second goal in the 40th minute by passing to Tanaka, who dashed into the box and guided the ball home.
Canada rallied hard after the break and had opportunities on set pieces. In the 70th minute, Julie Armstrong went one-on-one with Japan goalkeeper Shiori Kobayashi, but Kobayashi stood firm to deny her attempt. The Japanese team then held on to the end to collect three points.
Japan women’s Under-20 coach Norio Sasaki said, “We had to play against two opponents today – Canada’s aggressive football and the heat. But we managed to beat the heat and the Canada’s powerful football by moving the ball around so we could play the way we planned.”
Sasaki, who guided the Nadeshiko Japan women’s senior side to the semifinals of the Beijing Olympics this summer, added that he was impressed with the way his opponents tried hard to rally.
“We would like to continue working hard to reach the semifinals in the tournament,” Sasaki stated.
“This win can help us give momentum,” said Rumi Utsugi, who has played 27 times for the Nadeshiko Japan senior side.
“We went into the game without any nervousness, probably because most of us are immune from fear. So it worked out well, but I think we should have scored more as we had such a good possession today.”
Japan will next play Germany at the same venue on Sunday before meeting Congo in the third and final match in Group C on Thursday. The top two finishers in each group of the 16-team tournament will advance to the quarterfinals.