Welcome back to our thread, @Dernhelm: long time no see! If we win on Sunday, I promise that you'll anyway manage to qualify through some other path!
Another convincing win to cap off the group stage It was fun watching them play. Yes, it could have been more goals, but the Vietnam goalkeeper earned lots of respect for the job she did. Can't wait for Sunday!
heh, nah i don't expect us to win. i just want them to be a little gentle like 0-4 i think would already be a decent score haha. but yes we are well aware over here of the other chances of qualifying for the wwc. the real ticket really was making it to the knockout round. and you know what? i think for a team that was in a group of death when most fans last year ragged on the federation where we could have been in chinese taipei's position or vietnam's (i believe our ranking positions are quite very close) we are quite happy rather facing uzbekistan than say the possibility of north korea or australia in the playoffs.
I agree with all of those points, BUT I'm also a total sucker for the drama. I'll be prepping the popcorn if the AFC do it. JUST BRING IT!
The Nadeshiko League is starting this coming weekend, Saturday 14th There is a season long game we could play if enough members are interested. All you need to do is pick 1 team from each division (listed below) before the season starts, they will be with you all season so there's no need to be studying form week to week or even have knowledge of the league, just pick your 2 teams. We really need a minimum of 6 members taking part to make this more fun but more would be better. To stop anyone selecting the same teams, this will be the order of priority of regular members which I'm sure wont be needed. @lukephan @unepommekun @blissett @Lechus7 @Manchester Nadeshiko @Miora @Elstree @pierre bezukhov @Lohmann @frideswide @Ponde_Ringu @Stayfou @KAPIJXM Division 1 Nagoya Iga Shizuoka Viama Harima Belle Ehime Nippatsu Orca Setagaya Nittaidai Ichihara Division 2 Speranza Izumo Kibi Bunnys Fujizakura Veertien OSA Rhea JFA Yamato DR Hiroshima Nankatsu Renofa I'll explain the simple rules once we have enough of us taking part.
I realized Nadeshiko made 6 substitutions vs Vietnam. The only way that could’ve happened was if Kitagawa was a concussion sub. By FIFA protocol, players suspected to have a concussion cannot play for 7 days, so we probably won’t see her against the Philippines. Edit: has anyone noticed the officiating has been VERY lenient during this tournament as a whole?
Div. 1: AS Harima Albion Div. 2 FC Fujizakura Yamanashi By the way, until a few days ago, I had found that not all of the Nadeshiko League's teams had published their 2026's rosters on their website. When are they do to finalize their teams? Is there a deadline?
Div 1.....Ehime (obviously) Div 2....Speranza Hope the rules are really simple and it doesn't involve getting up at 4am...5am
For sentimental reasons Div 1: Iga Div 2: Bunnys If the game involves wearing their jerseys, I have both.
We only need avoid having 2 members with the same 2 teams. One team could be selected by a bunch of members as long as the second team is different.
Just think you'll be able to watch Nojima win 4-0 on Saturday...forget the score and watch them win 4-0 on Sunday (I think there's a game where we thrashed Spain but can't remember the score..maybe watch it tonight)
Div1: Shizuoka - I lived there for a year, so why not. Div2 - Renofa - How could I not pick a team that has two former Stella members in Yoko Tanaka and Naoko Wada! I am going to be in Yamaguchi in the first week of April, so I am hoping to get to the Renofa home game on the 4th or the 5th. There is always a silver lining.
If okay for me to join, I'll take: 1 - Setagaya 2 - Izumo Just based on the coolness of their crests.
My thorough knowledge of Japanese domestic competitions made the choice simple. 1. Nagoya - as my fave youtuber KazuLanguages is from Nagoya and 2. Fujizakura - as it's the coolest name that sounds like from Godzilla movie.
Coach Nils Nielsen The players showed great concentration. Finishing top of the group allowed us to minimize movement, which was a plus. In the first half, we made some long passes and forced plays in crowded areas, which we needed to address. At halftime, I told the players to use their surroundings effectively and not hesitate to finish. Scoring a goal in the first half made things a little easier, and I think we were able to implement those adjustments better in the second half. We didn't have much time to defend in the group stage, so for the quarterfinals, I'd like to further improve the quality of my defense and transitions and prepare to create more goal-scoring opportunities. DF #2 Shimizu Risa (Liverpool FC/England) The opposing players stayed up front, which made it difficult, but I focused on positioning myself higher and forcing them to drop back. I gave up a few chances, and I've acknowledged that this is an area of defensive improvement. I wasn't expecting to play on the left wing in the second half, but with my club experience, I was able to handle it without any issues. In attack, I adjust my positioning and role based on the characteristics of the players I'm teaming with. In the second half, Aoba Fujino was able to get behind the defense, so I shared passes with my teammates to ensure that the third player's movement would be effective. In matches like this, the focus is on offense, but going forward, I want to tighten up our defense as well. MF #10 NAGANO Fuka (Liverpool FC/England) I'm happy we won, but I feel there are still many areas I need to improve on, both individually and as a team. I want to improve even more for our next match. In the scene where Aoba Fujino scored, her movement was truly amazing, so all I had to do was pass the ball to her. I trust that our center backs are strong in aerial duels and will win the challenge, and I'm always conscious of recovering second balls. However, there were many times today when the opponent had the ball or in transitions where I needed to react more quickly, so I want to improve in that area for the next match. MF #15 FUJINO AOBHA (Manchester City/England) Compared to the first match, we had more space between our opponents, and we felt like we could break them down by moving the ball sideways and working together, so we were able to play calmly. Defensively, we were conscious of risk management and stayed focused until the end. As for the goal, (Nagano) Fuka made a great pass and controlled the ball well, so all I had to do was calmly slot it in. We had been talking about aiming for that formation in the second half, and it went exactly as we intended. We discussed switching sides during the match with (Hamano) Maika, and we were able to respond to the flow of the game by communicating with the coach. In the knockout stage, we want to continue to break through on the flanks and play close to the goal, while further improving the quality of our finishing. FW #11 TANAKA Minami (Utah Royals/USA) I'm disappointed we didn't score, but I feel like I was able to change the flow of the game by getting involved in a good way in the second half. Watching the first half from the bench, I felt like the ball was getting to our feet too much and that didn't increase the tempo. It was difficult because the opponents were playing deep, but I still felt that we needed to increase the speed of our passes and the overall tempo of our play, so I kept calling out to them in the second half. I was happy to be congratulated after the match on my 100th appearance for the national team. I've had a lot of experiences since I first joined the national team at the age of 18, but I want to keep my appetite as a forward and work hard towards even bigger goals. I think a one-off match will be a different kind of challenge, so I want to tighten up and prepare for the next match.