Official 2020 Nadeshiko Japan Thread [R] - なでしこジャパン（英語スレッド）

This one now works for me, although I am afraid is some minutes behind, since the game hasn't started yet on it.

Beware of early comments!

 

Spain has some former U-20 players too, including defender Batlle, that I had seen badly injured in Brittany two years ago.

 

5', both teams press frenetically and the game is quite confused, right now.

 

Endo already showed multiple times the defensive shortcomings I was fearing. She loses her player and Spain scores from an action on their right-wing (our left).

In general it seems to me that Endo tends to go forward partly forgetting her defensive duties.

 

Good shot by Sugasawa at 13', from an Iwabuchi's assist, is deflected in corner.

 

Three consecutive CKs for Japan (maybe one with handball in the box?) with no effect, followed by a mildly dangerous Spanish counterattack at 16'.

 

oh, well: streaming's black-out for me.

Edit: and it's back! Whew.

 

Dangerous middle range low shot by Guijarro is deflected in corner by Yamashita at 32'.

 

Another dangerous shot one minute ago. I hate to say it, but Endo in defense keeps being a liability: Spanish players noticed and push on her side.

 

I was already going to write that Iwabuchi had been the best player of Japan in first half (who would have said? ) and she scores this beauty of a lob-goal at 44'. Opponents were petrified.

I am not sure about the long assist from the right-wing: was it Ikejiri? It should be her, given the position, but the cameras tend to zoom in very seldom in this game.

 

Anyway: despite the beautiful goal giving a quite deserved equalizer to us (considering also the missed PK), there were a lot of things not "clicking" in Japan in this 1st Half.

Sure, most Japanese players (apart captain Kumagai) are in pre-season, while Spanish ones are in the middle of their league, but our most glaring problems in this 45' minutes were an out-of-position Jun Endo and the midfield duo of Miura and Sugita, rightfully requested by @Manchester Nadeshiko, not doing enough in our midfield, or, at the very least, not being accurate enough, especially in game-construction.

The problem with Endo doesn't worry me too much: friendly matches (and these are, as @FanOfFutbol correctly pointed out) are made for this kind of experimentations. About our central-miedfield duo, instead, I hope they are just out of pace, but I'd like them to be more reliable. Nakajima, just to name another MF, is in pre-season too but she seemed much more effective than them.

 

Who was subbed-out? Endo, i suppose?