Japan lost 1-0 away to Denmark in a women's football international friendly match Tuesday, ending their last warm-up tour overseas ahead of this summer's World Cup with a win and a loss.
Nadeshiko Japan, who came from behind to win 2-1 Friday against Portugal, conceded a 78th-minute own goal at Odense Stadium when Moeka Minami headed past keeper Ayaka Yamashita and into her own net as she tried to deal with a long ball behind the backline.
Eleventh-ranked Japan endured a difficult first half against their high-pressing, 15th-ranked hosts and gave away possession cheaply. Manager Futoshi Ikeda fixed the issue as they improved after the break, but Japan lacked quality with their crosses and bodies in the box while on the attack.
"We've learned how one play can decide victory or defeat and how cruel a goal can be," Ikeda said.
"It's frustrating not to win, but we had attacking spells while moving the ball around, especially in the second half. It was a positive that we could test many personnel combinations in these two games and were able to see players' characteristics."
Japan will face Zambia, Costa Rica and Spain in Group C at this year's World Cup, starting in July in Australia and New Zealand. They have training camp and warm-up games scheduled in Japan before heading to the tournament.
"We have to remind ourselves that we'd be (knocked out of the tournament and) going home if this was the real competition," captain Saki Kumagai said. "We need to take that to heart."
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