Official 2016 Nadeshiko Japan Thread [R] - なでしこジャパン（英語スレッド）

Meanwhile, some sparse news and general recaps from leagues where Nadeshiko girls play:

- in Frauen-Bundesliga nothing special happened, at least for our players: Iwabuchi isn't back to play yet, probably still injured, while her team of Bayern München recently lost (last week) to 1.FFC Turbine Potsdam, who subsequently took the lead of the rankings over them. SGS Essen is currently 4th in the rankings: they lost a catch-up match vs VfL Wolfsburg this wednesday (a match where Ando was subbed in only at 59'). Today, at 13:00, Essen will take on Bayern. Nagasato's 1.FFC Frankfurt is sadly 7th. Last week they drew by 2-2 a match vs 1899 Hofenheim after being comfortably leading by 2-0 in first half; Yuki was subbed out at 77', after Frankfurt had took 2nd goal at 70'. Today Frankfurt meet another middle-of-the-rankings team, SC Sand, at home.

- In France's Division 1 Féminine, Saki Kumagai's Olympique Lyonnais lost their first game in the last three seasons!!! In season 2013-2014, they had suffered just a single loss, an 1-0 from PSG (it didn't stop them from winning the title anyway). In 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, no loss for them in the league (in 2014-2015 they even won all of the matches, not even a draw! ).
Yesterday, to somehow close a circle, they lost a match, and it was again an 1-0 loss to PSG . The goal was by Marie-Laure Delie. Saki wasn't perfectly placed in that action (she overlapped with Mbock-Bathy in the center, while Delie was quite free on the right-side), but you can't actually say that the goal was her fault: in was mostly on Bouhaddi, who was caught mid-way off her line.

- NWSL is currently not operating, nor really very active on the market front. Although Kawasumi is now on loan to INAC, most followers assume that Naho's and Utsugi's contracts will be soon signed and extended to 2017 season. Seattle Reign FC has anyway an option for both players.

-In Aussie W-League, big surprise as champions of Melbourne City lose today their second match in a row and thus leave the top of the rankings! Yukari Kinga's Canberra United win by 5-1 (!) vs Brisbane Roar (also happened today) and take the lead of the rankings (alongside Perth Glory). Yukari Kinga played the whole match today and she seems to have become a lock-in starter in the midfield.
Interestingly enough, most Aussie clubs ransacked an off-season NWSL, by bringing in 2-3 US players each in their ranks, but the current leader preferred to look at Nadeshiko League, and apparently it paid, so far (not only they brought Kinga, but also they brought back their country-woman Ashleigh Sykes, who had played in AS Harima Albion earlier in 2016 and today scored one of their 5 goals).

 

There is now an article about Canberra United's win, on their own website. Actually, Ashleigh Sykes scored a brace.

The coach said: "All-round it was a great team performance, with all fourteen players who took to the park performing very well. Kinga, Celeste and Gracie [Maher] were all brilliant in midfield."

 

It's interesting that, with the new formula (since last year, if I remember well) that has the final match on Christmas' day, there will be just two days between the semifinals (23th of December) and the final (25th of December). Will it be enough rest? Especially if one of the teams (but not the other) comes out quite weary from a semi-final that dragged on to extra-time?

 

Rumours on NWSL's thread say that Canadian young star Kadeisha Buchanan was spotted in Lyon:

@Lyonnais69005 pas mieux pic.twitter.com/Y0XGR01eSn

— MALLEN Dominique (@dommal38) December 16, 2016

Subsequently, there are people conjecturing (without any real ground, actually) that OL could want to change their CBs duo. Everyone talks about OL having signed German Josephine Henning as a done deal, just waiting to be announced. Meanwhile Wendie Renard is increasingly rumoured to be looking for a team in NWSL. So, there are people speculating that OL's next CBs could be Henning-Buchanan and that then it could be that Kumagai's contract (ending in June) wouldn't be extended for next season.

As I pointed out, just speculations, nothing confirmed (or even rumoured, for the Kumagai's part of the deal).

 

So Ishihara is back in Nadeshiko League, hmmm? Interesting!

 

Any chance that they will be televised/streamed?

 

And so we get an Albi-INAC Empress' Cup final for the third time (not actually in a row, but in 4 years: do I remember well that this was the final in 2013 and 2015?).

In 2013, Tiffany McCarthy's super-performance wasn't enough, and Albi lost penalty shootout after the game had ended 2-2. Last year, the decider was Homare Sawa's last goal of her career. What about this year? What do you think, guys, Megumi Kamionobe & Co. will finally make it or will it be INAC once again to prevail?

 

Algarve Cup's matches aren't better detailed anywhere? I am tempted to go to Portugal to watch one of the matches, but I would like to have the schedule, before deciding...

 

By looking at JFA website, I now notice that my prediction that one of the team could have been weary in the final from having to play extra-time in the semi-final was right! Vegalta-INAC was 1-1 after regular time and Kyokawa scored her brace in extra-time.

I wonder if this will be a factor in the final that will be played in just two days, or if INAC will manage to recover well anyway. For sure, they now have an impressive FW duo of former Tokiwagi High School players (Michigami & Kyokawa), who, after having to fight for long against injuries, seem now finally perfectly fit in this season and back to scoring as they were doing in their youth days!

 

Wow, those High Definition highlights were so better quality than we are used to! (although some actions were more difficult to read, at ground level: I would have liked both views).

It looks like Hasegawa didn't lost her back-heel touch, after U-20 WWC (see at about o':50") . She also gave a wonderful assist to Mina Tanaka, who wasted it. Towards the end of the match, it looked like Mi-Chan wanted to try to do it all alone, but Albi resisted well.

In the INAC match, I guess Fukumoto was a good choice in goal (also she surely knew well former team-mates Nakano and Arimachi, although I am not sure this last one played). Nakano's short-CK was very effective, and Kawamura's utter joy after the goal was spectacular: I wonder if Yuri will somehow find space again in National Team, after Takakura will finalize U-20 players' transition to Senior Team: maybe her strongest point is that she's versatile and can be played as a DF and as a MF also?
If I am not wrong both Masuya (with the assist) and Kyokawa (with the goals) were late subs in INAC: now that there aren't many players injured, the depth of the bench can be again one of iNAC's strengths? And can they overcome this way in the final the disadvantage of having played extra-time in the semi?