- Philip Morrissey
- Sat, Jul 22 2023
The 2011 winners, Japan, shrugged aside any potential doubts with a convincing win over debutantes Zambia this morning.
Having taken the lead just before half-time, they cut loose after the break to put their opponents to the sword. This performance sends out a strong message that they're serious contenders in this World Cup.
The match was a chastening experience for the African side, which some pundits had tipped to make a real impact in this tournament.
They struggled to make any significant impact in the opposition half and were overwhelmed once Japan pulled ahead. The loss of Catherine Musonda to a red card compounds their problems going forward.
The Japanese side, featuring young talents like Aoba Fujino, Mina Tanaka, and Hinata Miyazawa, took the opportunity to showcase their skills on the world stage. Zambia were expected to lean heavily on the exciting Barbra Banda for their campaign.
From the onset, the Japanese team demonstrated their dominance. Mina Tanaka was set up by Aoba Fujino, but her shot went off target. Fujino then tested Catherine Musonda for the first time.
Her long-range shot, which struck the post and went wide, came closest to opening the score.
Tanaka thought she had netted her first goal of the tournament when she tapped home after a free-kick routine caught out the Zambian back-line. However, VAR adjudged it to have been offside.
The Japanese continued to create and squander opportunities as Yui Hasegawa, Tanaka and Fuka Nagano all missed chances. Musonda and her back-line were kept busy as they struggled to clear the ball effectively.
The Zambians needed to reach half-time with the scores level, but the pressure took its toll. Fujino set up Hinata Miyazawa, who had made a late run into the box for an easy finish.
After the break, an extraordinary sequence of events involving VAR unfolded. Tanaka thought she had scored when she finished at the back-post following a sweeping Japanese move.
However, it was ruled out for offside again. Fujino was then taken down in the area by Musonda, which led to a penalty being awarded and then overturned due to an offside in the build-up.
Tanaka wasn't denied her moment though, as she reached Jun Endo’s cross to double the lead. Moments later, she helped set up Miyazawa for her second goal.
Miyazawa failed to complete her hat-trick, but Endo added a fourth goal as Japan continued to swamp the Zambian defence with their relentless movement and running off the ball.
Just when Zambia thought their misery was over, it got worse. Substitute Riko Ueki was taken down in the area by Musonda, who rushed out of her goal.
Musonda received a second yellow card, forcing Zambia to bring on their third-choice keeper due to an injury to their second choice. Ueki took the resulting penalty herself and scored.
The final whistle brought smiles from the Japanese players and coaching staff, who will undoubtedly gain confidence from this victory.
In stark contrast, their opponents were thoroughly downbeat after their big day went horribly wrong.
The road doesn't get any easier for them as they face one of the tournament favourites, Spain, on Wednesday at 08.30 GMT.
Japan will aim to secure progress when they take on Costa Rica on the same day at 06.00 GMT.
Japan Women: Ayaka Yamashta; Rion Ishikawa, Saki Kumagai, Moeka Minami, Risa Shimizu; Yui Haesgawa, Fuka Nagano, Jun Endo (Kiko Seike 77); Aoba Fujino (Hikaro Naomoto 77), Hinata Miyazawa (Remina Chiba 90+3), Mina Tinaka (Riko Ueki 66).
Subs not used: Shiori Miyake, Hina Sugita, Haka Takahashi, Honoka Hayashi, Momoko Tanaka, Miyabi Moriya, Maika Hamano, Chika Hirao, .
Booked: None.
Sent off: None.
Zambia Women: Catherine Musonda; Margaret Belemu, Agness Muesa, Lushomo Mweemba (Vast Phiri 82); Martha Tembo, Susan Banda, Rachael Kundananji, Ireen Lungu (Ochumba Lubandji 72); Evarine Katongo, Siomala Mapepa ((Avell Chitundu 72) (Eunice Sakala 90+9)), Barbra Banda
Subs not used: Judith Soko, Mary Mulenga, Mary Wilombe, Hellen Mubanga, Comfort Selemani, Leticia Lungu, Hellen Chanda, Esther Banda.
Booked: Catherine Musonda (51).
Sent off: Catherine Musonda (90+8).
Referee: Tess Olofsson
Attendance: 16,111
extratime.com Player of the Match: Aoba Fujino
