By Hiroki Noda,
Japan's second-half goal rush in the Asian Games women's football final against rival North Korea came as a pleasant surprise from a youthful squad with relatively little international experience.
In front of a crowd enthusiastically supporting North Korea, the Japanese up-and-comers pulled out an impressive 4-1 victory on Friday night in Hangzhou, China, including three goals in a six-minute span after the break.
Rather than the full Nadeshiko Japan national squad, featuring several overseas-based stars, the Asian games team was drawn from the domestic WE League after the Asiad's one-year postponement amid the coronavirus pandemic resulted in a scheduling clash for national team players.
"We felt the tension and the atmosphere (in the stadium) was quite interesting, but all of our players played with confidence and stood up to the challenge of today's match," Japan manager Michihisa Kano said during a post-match press conference.
"Everyone worked together to overcome the challenges."
At the start of the second half, Japan's first final against North Korea since their 3-1 loss in 2014 looked unlikely to turn out as a comfortable victory.
While the first half had ended 1-1, North Korea appeared to have the upper hand after creating more scoring opportunities.
On the instructions he gave at halftime, Kano said, "I told them where the opponents lost their possession, so we could enhance our offense. We also emphasized the advantages we had in our offense so that we could play better and get ready for the second half."
Nadeshiko Japan, the 2011 Women's World Cup champions, have performed inconsistently against the world's top teams since finishing runners-up at the 2015 World Cup.
But with talented young players rising through the ranks, Nadeshiko might have a good chance of exceeding their 2023 World Cup quarterfinal finish when they play at next summer's Paris Olympics.
In six matches played in Hangzhou, Japan scored 39 goals. Their results included a 4-1 semifinal dismantling of hosts China, whose starting XI included 10 players from this summer's World Cup.
"We're so happy for this win, because I know expectations weren't so high for our quickly assembled team," Japan forward Remina Chiba said.
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Asian Games: Japan down North Korea for women's football gold
