NEWS

Japan forward Asano Nagasato scored the winner in the 83rd minute as Japan edged Germany 2-1 in their second Group C match at the FIFA Women’s Under-20 World Cup in Chile on Sunday.

Japan’s second straight win in the tournament earned them a spot in the quarterfinals.
Playing at Municipal de la Florida Stadium in Santiago, Japan faced plenty of pressure from Germany but played patiently and gradually came into the game.
The young Ladies in Blue came close around the 30th-minute mark when Yuka Kado’s mid-range attempt beat Germany goalkeeper Alisa Vetterlein but hit the bar.
Japan went ahead in the 41st minute when midfielder Kie Koyama latched onto a through ball from Natsuko Hara and fired home the opener.
Germany made two changes at halftime that helped them get back into the game.
The European champions leveled the scores in the 61st minute when Isabel Kerschowski headed home a Nicole Banecki cross.
But the Japanese players continued to look for the win, and Nagasato cut into the box to slot home the winner from a tight angle with eight minutes left.
“I’m not surprised by our win,” Japan women’s Under-20 coach Norio Sasaki said. “We’ve worked really hard in training in order to try and beat Germany or the United States, and this is the result. I think we shut down the good parts of Germany’s game.”
Sasaki added: “We won it with our organizational skills as we can’t compete with them on an individual basis, and our players performed really well.”
Japan will play Congo on Thursday in their third and final match in the group. Congo lost 4-0 to Canada on Sunday and remain winless.
Sasaki said, “Congo have many players who play with patience, which is a type of player we haven’t faced before. We will work on the conditioning of our players and make sure we play with good awareness.”