Let's hope she doesn't decide to show up vs Japan instead! Meanwhile, at HT, Sweden are ahead by 1-0 vs USA (and they would have deserved more goals).
Ikeda Sakiko Shimizu Risa - Kumagai Saki - Minami Moeka - Kitamura Nanami Shiokoshi Yuzuho - Miura Narumi - Nakajima Emi - Hasegawa Yui Sugasawa Yuika - Iwabuchi Mana
it's on TBS https://aqstream.com/jp/tbs/TBS I help with JPN - CAN commentary (behind the scenes JPN team data guy ) that my friend in Eurosport PL is doing so want be able to post here during the game. Fingers crossed for good start to the Olympics by Nadeshiko.
It's 6:31 here in the East of Canada. I hope it will be a good show, but I can't expect to last much beyond the first half since I'm already cutting through my sleep.
This showed me that my feed is late by about one minute. We're 0-1. Let's see how the team reacts. Canada held possesion too much in these first minutes. I am quite surprised that Sugita fell from grace so quickly to Shiokoshi as a Holding Midfielder (although I've got nothing in particular against her).
I'm watching it live in real time on CBC. If anything, I'm disappointed at the Japanese Ds for not moving their feet better. That is why there was an opening on goal. Move the bloody feet at all times!
So far it's not as if Canada have made good use of all of that ball possession gap. On the Canadian perspective, the lack of creativity is a problem for the reds. But on the Japanese perspective, the fact that there is no effort from the blues to try outplaying opponents against a team lacking creativity would be a bigger concern. Personally, I moved more to get food to feed by fat behind than those 2 teams did so far.
More high pressing is needed on Canada's defense-line when we're behind by 0-1! And I don't like how much often we pass the ball back to our CBs to restart from the defense: let's try at least some balls forward!
More like they need to make far better use of what they can get. Can't afford to play like that without any sense of intensity.
Of course I later noticed that it's actually Nakajima playing alongside Miura in the center (that's a waste in itself: we'd need Nakajima elsewhere on the pitch). At the moment I can't see Japan scoring, barring Mana Manadona Iwabuchi inventing something out of nothing.
I hate that concept as a whole, men's or women's football alike. Even if I had Paolo Maldini and Laurent Blanc playing together, I wouldn't want the ball to be sent to them too often for the sake of restarting. It kills momentum when there is a very dangerous weapon called the direct route, for which the purpose is to catch opponents off guard.
Japan is slow, sloppy, predictable, out of ideas. Sugasawa is the only one trying to apply pressure to Canada's defense when they are in possession (why only her? Why no-one else feels the urgency to do it? I can't believe Takakura wants to wait for Canada as if we were on 0-0), but for the rest she hasn't done anything good. Shimizu pushes quite well on the Right, but Kitamura on the Left is pushed down by the dangerous action by the Canadians on that side. Shiokoshi lacks personality; I really would like to see Endo on the pitch instead.