Official 2022 Nadeshiko Japan Thread [R] - なでしこジャパン（英語スレッド）

LiveSoccerTV says it's only going to be on Finnish broadcast or the BS Fuji TV (late replay), so I guess we have to rely on whatever we can find online.

This stream is working okay for me so far, but make sure you have adblock for all the popups etc.

http://streamgo.to/np_7

Edit: This one seems to be better, it's starting now!
http://www.sawlive.tv/embedm/stream...3pkZG1oWFhhb3FHcW1JYWkyNkNiM0ptSXBxcW0wTnVZaH

 

A pretty poor first half from us wasn't that? Very much expected from the starting line up though. Finland would be leading 3-1 if it weren't for Yamashita.

I really wonder why Tanaka can't perform in international matches. She's been ruining everything she's touched so far. Can't even keep the ball at her feet.

 

Miyake on the left proves an interesting concept but she is learning this position. Takahashi may prove good replacement when Minami or Kumagai are not available but defensively she isn't at the level with them yet. I'm less and less convinced on Miura, seriously Momiki can distribute ball as well and is better on 1v1.
Finland will be eaten alive at EURO's - it's 1-1 and as well could've been 3-3 and this against Japan reserves none the less..

 

Can someone record this match from BS Fuji TV? The Finnish stream I'm recording is choppy and barely watchable.

 

https://hd.ștream2watch.com/video/finland-women-vs-japan-women-2022-06-27-15-15-00

http://lalastreams.me/lala/index.php?stream=125124493?sid=1425929

 

I have to say Naomoto has been more threatening since she came on for Miura.



HT subs ↓Tanaka↓ ↑Hasegawa↑ ↓Sugasawa ↓ ↑Ueki ↑ ↓Miura↓ ↑Naomoto↑

We score in the 1st minute of the second half and are now leading 3-1. Our high press seems to be working somewhat better too.


Sub in the 60~the minute ↓Miyake↓↑Takarada↑

We look like a completely different team in this second half...expectedly

 

Final Score Japan 5-1 Finland

Scorers

Japan

Natalia Kuikka 13'(OG)
Jun Endo 47'
Hana Takahashi 58'
Riko Ueki 74'
Yui Hasegawa 89'

Finland
Adelina Engman 18'

I don't have much to say about this game. We were really poor in the first half but once we had most of our best players in their usual positions we played well. I'm assuming Ikeda wanted to give time to those who haven't played yet but I'm not really sure what we got out of that first half except "that didn't work". I guess Endo performed really well today(MVP of the match for me) so that's something good.

 

Can we remove Tanaka from this team? Others have been cut after shorter periods of not playing well. Against Serbia everyone seemed to have scored except for her and it sounds line today she was unable to find her own feet. There has to be talent in Japan that can do better.

 

I'm not sure when the highlights will be uploaded to the JFA Youtube channel, but here's the one from FUJI TV out already

【女子サッカー国際親善試合 🇯🇵日本×フィンランド🇫🇮】
前半に追いつかれるも後半のゴールラッシュ⚽️でフィンランド戦を制した #なでしこジャパン
試合をハイライトでお届けします🔥
#nadeshiko #daihyo @JFA pic.twitter.com/dcydqhxT2j

— フジテレビサッカー (@cxfootball) June 27, 2022

 

Yea, I really agree with this. She's had enough chances, and was absolutely abysmal over these two legs despite having the most playing time out of the strikers. The ball would barely stick to her feet, and her linkup play – which I consider one of her best assets – was close to non-existent when she was on the pitch. She didn't even register a single shot in the Finland game (same goes for Sugasawa too I think, that offense was really devoid of ideas or intent in the first 45 tbh).

Tanaka has been called up to the NT since 2013? Granted, she missed out on the last WC rather controversially but she hasn't made her mark in any important tournaments or crucial matches. Sugasawa at least has the 2018 Asian Games that standout in memory where she scored several decisive goals. Imo it's fair to say she doesn't deserve a spot anymore.

This is definitely juxtaposed by the vibrant rise of Ueki though, who's certainly cemented a starting spot in Ikeda's striker lineup going forward. I haven't seen her drop deep much (Iwabuchi does plenty of that anyway) but in her, it looks like we finally have that "target man" to pose a direct danger in the box. I know it's still early days, but I can't help but be excited that she's the no. 9 we all wanted Sugasawa to be — a proper aerial threat against larger-sized opposition, not just fellow Asian teams and is a clinical finisher despite limited chances. Her chested takedown followed by that peach of a volley was a cracking goal of the highest order

 

I'm continuing on another post, as I had some thoughts overall too.

This Finland game was a tale of two halves (though not so extreme, but we were certainly on top in the 2nd). And we could have easily let the game slip away from us as Finland could have very well been two goals or so ahead before HT. I liked that we came out aggressively from the get-go of the 2nd half and secured a lead within minutes, and were able to "reverse the tide" so to speak. I don't recall seeing this ability to wrest control of a game into our favour, during the previous era, so it was nice to see.

Credit to him, Ikeda's subs certainly made the difference too. Although, it was apparent even before KO that the starting lineup was pretty dubious and going to struggle. I do wish Narumiya got more than just garbage minutes in this European outing... Naomoto as well, did Nagano really have to start both games?

Great news that we only conceded a single goal (while scoring 10!) over the two games, but it has to be said that it was a poor, poor goal to concede. Initially when watching I thought the Finnish #7 ran all the way from the halfway line straight to our goal but in fact she started the move from even deeper in her own half
As @Ponde_Ringu mentioned, the Miyake at LB experiment is looking bleak, unchanged from the way it was earlier this year at the Asian Cup. We should just stick with Miyagawa, who held her own impressively during the Serbia game, since it doesn't look like there are any other promising options (like Kitamura?) he would potentially call up. I think it's paramount that a starting back four is fixed by the next international NT matches, enough picking and choosing already.

Lastly, even though Serbia/Finland aren't exactly the cream of the crop in European opposition, these matches really showed what an asset it is to play against sides that embody the same aggressiveness and sheer force with their physical play. Our players were evidently struggling with their 1v1 battles, and several dangerous moments stood out when the midfield (Miura/Nagano) got muscled off the ball right in front of our penalty area. Great experience for many which they wouldn't get in the WE League or seen much yet in their young NT careers.

I am definitely looking forward to the EAFF next month, do we know yet whether the foreign-based players get to participate? Aware it's usually just the domestic players but there was talk that this year might be different with the delay of European season due to the Euros? I checked, and it's in between NWSL matchdays too.

 

Am I the only one who thinks Hasegawa fell down rather easily to get the penalty? I may have missed something, but I swear she just fell over.

I have only watched the highlights, so I am merely making general comments.

I think anybody who started both games is probably in favour with Ikeda, excluding Tanaka who probably played herself out of favour. Nagano probably did not need to start both games, but I would venture to ask if Shimizu needed to play the full 180 minutes?

Nadeshiko seem to have a lot of right backs, but imagine if Shimizu got injured. Shimizu is obviously a lock when fit, but I would still like to see somebody else given a chance to play in the position, even if it is just for fifteen or twenty minutes.

Aoi Kizaki is probably the only other player I can think of. She started to play quite well for Regina at left back. But Miyagawa is a fairly solid player and if she has Sugita in front of her they should be able ot handle most attacks.

 

Full match

 

Finland No 8's reaction shows that she knows she tripped Yui's leg.

 

I thought so, too, at first. But rewatching the situation, the Finnish player caught her leg which caused Yui to loose balance and fall over her own feet.

 

Fair enough.

I can not see Finland getting out of the group stage at the Euros. I mean they have to play Spain in two weeks time. It is not looking good for them.

 

Hasegawa was defineately fouled in the box but I'm guessing she 'made a meal' of it which I suggest she learned in the WSL just to convince the ref she was fouled.

 

The lionesses are masters at that so she’s learning from the best I guess. I don’t mean any offense when I say this, they just do what they can to win.

 

They are indeed......I think they would call it....gamesmanship.....I wouldn't

 

Translated an article summarizing the tour in Europe with an interview of Ikeda. As always expect many typos and ask me anything if the translation is hard to understand. Original Article


Nadeshiko Japan (Japan Women's National Team) ended their June tour of Europe with back-to-back wins. The team scored a 5-0 win over Serbia and a 5-1 win over Finland. The team's concept, which has been developing since the start of the tour in October last year, has been reflected in the results, and coach Futoshi Ikeda is now looking ahead to the World Cup in a year's time.

The first thing to be appreciated during this European tour is the attack, which scored five goals in each of the two games, for a total of 10 goals. In their European tour last November, they were scoreless, 0-2 against Iceland and 0-0 against the Netherlands. Even with the difference in the level of their opponents, the experiencing the success they had in scoring a large number of goals this time against Serbia and Finland is irreplaceable.

The variety of attacking patterns is also good. Crosses from both sides of the field, combinations with deep runs down the flanks, set pieces, penalties, counter attacks, one-on-ones with the goalkeeper after a through pass, they had many ways to break down their opponents.

The second goal against Finland, in particular, was perhaps the most telling of the team's aims.

Right back Risa Shimizu intercepted an opponent's pass in midfield and passed it to Yui Hasegawa, the No.10, who made a long run to the right side of the field. The ball was then passed via right mid Hinata Miyazawa to Shimizu, who ran deep down the right and cut back for left mid Jun Endo, who ran in from the opposite side to score. Other than Jun Endo, Hasegawa was was waiting on nearside, Nagano the holding mid was waiting in the center and Ueki the No.9 was waiting on the far side. The team won the ball, quickly moved the ball forward, and interlocked to attack deep into the right flank, with four players in the penalty area in a well-balanced manner. This was exactly what they were looking for.

"I think the team has started to develop the same image of each other through their combinations, and I also appreciate the fact that the substitutes were able to play boldly with their roles in the team and their own strengths"

Futoshi Ikeda gave such praise to the offensive side of the team in the two matches. The first half against Finland was difficult, but he saw it as a result of the players being too far from each other, and in the second half he made corrections to keep a proper distance between the players.

"I told them in the meeting that we should create our attack with width on the flanks, and I really emphasized this. In fact, I think I emphasized this too much, as the midfielders on both sides kept positioning themselves very wide. The full backs also positioned themselves very wide and although this means they played with a high level of awareness to my instructions, the distance between the players became too great and they became isolated in some scenes. In the second half, we fine-tuned the positions of the midfielders, and we had more scenes where they took positions inside."

With this, from the first half which ended 1-1, the team found a rhythm in their passing and scored four more goals in one fell swoop.

Although the team's record of scoring 10 goals has been focused on. In defense, Ikeda has been working hard to reintroduce the concept of "winning the ball" to its players.

He said, "We have been trying to build up successful experiences of winning the ball high up. When we are trying to win the ball, we are looking for a switch, linkage, and strength like we saw in these games. On the other hand, I wanted to increase our defensive options so we can sustain a well balanced defense in the midfield while also eliminating space in the back, and control the game. This will help us deal with various opponents with different strengths."

In this respect, he gave a fair assessment of the team's performance in the two games.

"For example, I think we were able to communicate in these two games on how to put the pressure on the opponent's holding midfielders when there is a mismatch in formations, and on how to switch on the defensive pressure, and we were able to create scenes where we could win the ball from the front line through good coaching from the back."

Whether the team will be able to compete with even higher level opponents both offensively and defensively will depend on how well the team polishes their strategies. After a fruitful June series, the next stop is the E-1 Championship in July. Although it will not be held during an International Match Day, Ikeda is in the process of approaching each club so he can call as many overseas players as possible. He places heavy importance on the 3 games as he intends to make this experience even more beneficial. Above all, revenge for the Asian Cup semifinal loss to China in a penalty shootout is also at stake.


PS

I feel like I've asked this before but I'm actually wondering where Iwabuchi fits in this squad if we're sticking with a 4-2-3-1. I feel Hasegawa and Iwabuchi are both at their best as a No.10 but we can't have two of those... Any thoughts?

 

Japanese referee Yoshimi Yamashita is one of three women picked by FIFA to be referees at the men’s World Cup in Qatar. It’s the first time a woman will be in charge on soccer’s largest stage. She sees her job this way: Let the game shine, as it should > https://t.co/rPdP6Lb6jx pic.twitter.com/afoLXVwgaD

— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) June 27, 2022

 

Actually, the reason I asked was because during the game vs Serbia I found her to be a bit ineffective and even a bit volatile when playing on the right. I don't think she contributes enough defensively to be the first choice to play on the sides and some of her mistakes tend to be dangerous at times. Her and Nagano are players I see as "high risk/high return" though Nagano to a greater extent. I would much prefer playing Miyazawa on the right. Hasegawa said herself that she is better when playing centrally.

But on second thought I agree with you that we can't rely too heavily on Iwabuchi anyway given her fitness. Maybe we don't have to (or won't be able to)play both of them at the same time.

I really feel sorry for Tanaka because she really has worked so hard to get herself back into the team but after watching her play these two games I would like to see someone new called up for the E-1 Championship. Maybe Mami Ueno from Hiroshima?

 

Thanks to @Lechus7 for retweeting this so it popped up on my TL. Interesting read about the Japan Pro-footballers Association and how they are involved in women's football after the launch of the WE League. For once it's all in English. ↓↓


https://fifpro.org/en/who-we-are/fi...joined-the-japan-pro-footballers-association/