Nadeshiko Japan, ranked 11th in the world, won their first match against Zambia and Costa Rica in their second match, giving them 6 points, and they have already secured their place in the finals.
On the 31st, the team will play Spain, ranked 6th in the world, in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, in order to qualify for the first place in the first round.
Spain, who are making their third appearance in three consecutive tournaments, are a team that has shown rapid improvement in recent years.
Last time, in France in 2019, we advanced to the final tournament for the first time and entered the round of 16.
In the European qualifiers for this year’s tournament, they won all eight matches and qualified for the tournament.
In the first round, they won two straight games, just like Japan, and finished first in Group C, surpassing Japan in goal difference.
The core of the team is Alexia Putejas, the absolute ace who was selected as the FIFA Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons.
An aggressive midfielder who creates chances with accurate passes and aims to score himself, he returned from a knee injury in April this year.
The key for Japan will be to steal the ball from their aggressive press and attack quickly against the passing soccer led by Putejas.
If Japan wins, they will advance to the 1st place in the first round, and will face Norway, the 2nd place in Group A, in the first round of the final tournament on August 5th.
If they lose or draw, they will face Group A 1st place Switzerland.
At the press conference on the 30th, Futoshi Ikeda, the manager of “Nadeshiko Japan”, said, “I think it’s going to be a really difficult match, so I want to play with high concentration. I think that the difference in the quality of play in the penalty area will be the difference between not missing a goal and a decision machine.”
The final match of the first round, Japan vs. Spain, will be played from 4:00 pm Japan time and will be broadcast on General TV and NHK Plus.
2023-07-30 21:50:06
#Nadeshiko #Japan #League #1st #place #match #Spain #today #NHK
