NEWS

Nippon TV Beleza won the All-Japan Women’s Championship for the second successive year and ninth time overall after beating 10-man INAC Leonessa 4-1 in the final on Thursday at the National Stadium in Tokyo.

Midfielder Yayoi Kobayashi put Beleza on the road to victory with the opener in the 16th minute.
Five minutes later, Eriko Arakawa won a penalty after being brought down by Yasuyo Yamagishi, who was sent off for the challenge. Arakawa calmly converted the spot kick to put her team 2-0 up.
In the 61st minute, Japan midfielder Homare Sawa converted a fine pass from forward Shinobu Ohno to give Beleza a 3-0 lead, before substitute forward Mana Iwabuchi struck in the 82nd minute to complete the scoring for the champions.
INAC replied shortly before the final whistle through forward Miwa Yonetsu.
INAC manager Keiji Tabuchi said, “We knew how they would play from our experience with them in the league. But our game plan fell apart when we had a player sent off.”
Beleza manager Takeo Matsuda commented, “After they went down to 10 players, we had the advantage, but we really didn’t use it so well.”
Asked about their success over the years, Matsuda said: “It’s not about defending titles; it’s more about having the desire to get stronger. That’s the strength of this team.”
It was a double crown for Beleza following their success in the women’s L. League.