Japan’s “Little Nadeshiko” secured victory in the Korea-Japan clash. (C) AFC
On May 11 local time, in the quarterfinal of the U-17 Women’s Asian Cup held in China, the U-17 Japan women’s national team, led by manager Sadayoshi Shirai, faced South Korea.
The Little Nadeshiko had dominated the group stage with three convincing wins. In this “Korea-Japan battle,” which also offered a spot in the U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco this autumn, Japan controlled the game from the start. However, they struggled to break through South Korea’s solid defense, and the first half ended 0-0.
In the second half, Japan came under pressure and conceded a penalty in the 70th minute. But goalkeeper Ayaka Miyachi saved it. Japan then took the lead in the 74th minute when Rara Higuchi scored a stunning direct free kick. Japan held on to win 1-0.
South Korea fought hard but lost. Fans back home were disappointed, with comments on Korean media outlet NAVER saying: “We can’t beat Japan in men’s or women’s football,” “We should learn the basics from them,” “If only we had scored the penalty…”, “We had more chances…”, and “So disappointing.”
Japan will now face Australia in the semifinals on May 14.