I just finished watching the Japan-Philippines match. Smooth stuff, despite the fact that we had to wait until the last minutes of the 1st Half to score and both goals there came from a set piece. I am quite sure that we would have won the match anyway, even if we had still been on a 0-0 draw at HT: Philippines' defense was dogged, but quite frantic, even desperate at times, unable to keep possession and often conceding unneeded corners (that would have ended costing them dearly); I didn't watch the match vs Chinese Taipei (or anyway I just watched a little piece of it), but I've got the impression that, despite the fact that their possession was equally abysmal and that they couldn't actually stop Japan from shooting, their defense was a little more organized that today's opponents' one. Anyway, as @Manchester Nadeshiko wisely observed, these first four matches were little more than training sessions: the draw was so generous with us that we qualified to the WWC without much effort (and that was good: no heartaches for us), but on the other hand, for what concerns the actual AFC Women's Asian Cup Trophy, we land on the semifinal without really knowing what's our current form, because we haven't tested it yet against "true" opposition: we have clashed vs Chinese Taipei (ranked #40 in the world), India (#67), Vietnam (#36) and Philippines (#41); the other teams who have remained in the competition are Australia (#15), China (#17) and Korea Republic (#21): you have to sum up two of their rankings to reach the highest one we had to meet. With today, we have rotated all of our three GKs, but I don't remember that any of them had to make an actual save (or even touch the ball for something more than a back-pass) and 80-90% of these four games were played in the opponent's half of the pitch. Basically our defense is completely untested and let's hope we don't discover any shortcomings against proper opponents in the next games, because it could be too late to address them. Given all that, what can we anyway say of this game? No harm today, but our converting ratio remains not very high (we had 50 shots, 17 of them on goals, vs 0): vs other teams, we won't get 50 shots, probably not even half of them, so we have to make each shot count. Also we probably have to get better at scoring from open play, instead of from set pieces: today we did, but only after opening the score. On the good side, I could see nice combinations on both wings, especially in the 2nd Half: Risa Shimuzu/Aoba Fujino on the migi-side and Hikaru Kitagawa/Remina Chiba on the hidari-side did a good job in sending cross after cross in the box. In particular I had the impression that Risa Shimizu was very close to her former self and that's very good (of course, she needs to be tested vs less easy opponents, but at least she looks physically ok and as dynamic as in the past). When Yui Hasegawa was subbed-out, it took me some time to find who had worn the captain's armband, because Moeka Minami, who was our last defensive outlet, the player who was sitting lowest to prevent any possible Philippines' attack (that actually didn't come), was seldom on camera and was almost a non-paying spectator as our GKs were. Then finally, when she moved deeper for a CK, I could see the armband. Some final consideration about our prediction-game: Toko Koga is our most unexpected scorer. She was last year when she scored the goal that allowed us to beat USWNT after 13 years and to win the SheBelieves Cup, and she was today when nobody would have guessed (actually: no-one of us on this thread did indeed guess ) that she would have been a brace-scorer today. I anyway managed to salvage some sparse points from the fact that most of Nils Nielsen's subs scored: Momoko Tanikawa, Riko Ueki mere seconds after being the latest sub (by the way, let's hope it's nothing serious for Mina Tanaka ); I swear yesterday I had thought about predicting Manaka Matsukubo (instead of Kiko Seike), then I said to myself: "Naaah, she had so little playing-time in this tournament: I am not even sure she's going to be on the pitch!". I should have followed with my guts and go with it instead! About Riko Ueki: she seems in her best form. Her diving header reminds of one she scored at the U-20 WWC 2018 (that Japan won): it's always been one of her specialties, but I am kind of re-watching her dominant performance from that youth tournament from 8 years ago. Let's hope she can keep it up vs the "big teams" also.
Ah, one last thing: I realized why I missed the match today! I was still thinking of the Perth's time-zone and I hadn't adjusted to the fact that the quarter-final was going to be played in Sydney! That's the problem of playing a tournament in a country with multiple time-zones (despite the experience of Australia I had made at the time of WWC 2023). Unluckily, I won't have that problem again for the semifinal on Wednesday, because I'll be at work at school almost all day and I am going to miss it. I hope when I'll come back from work I am going to find good news: meanwhile, follow the match for me also, guys, and Ganbare Nadeshiko Japan.
Well, I know I usually enter here now once or twice in a week, but that doesn't mean I am not in touch with Asian Cup. I congratulate all the fans and the team for the WWC qualify. Now I have a question, what day and hour is the semifinal going to be? I have to see if I have the chance to watch it because of my time difference.
Semi-finals 17 March 2026 18:00 UTC+8 Australia v China [ Report (AFC)] Report (FIFA) Perth Stadium, Perth 18 March 2026 20:00 UTC+11 South Korea v Japan [ Report (AFC)] Report (FIFA) Stadium Australia, Sydney I guess it's 10am in Spain.
First of all, thank you. Yeah, is that time in Spain, but the problem is that I live in Guatemala now, is at 3:00 and I have to go to work the next day. But I will see if I make an effort to watch the game with you, I think Nadeshiko deserves it after all.
We had to become Corner FC in order to break Philippine's defensive wall I was pleased by how the girls kept pushing and finally forced the scoreline, and was happy for the players who managed to get on the scoresheet. I'm a bit apprehensive about the semi-final, as @blissett has brilliantly explained in his post above, it will be the first "decent" team Japan plays against. The friendlies against Italy and Norway were not good, but hopefully they were not indicative of the team's real form. They were friendlies, after all. So far, for this tournament, the manager seems to know what he's doing. Only one thing is certain: We'll get behind the team as always and see you on Wednesday!
Highlight: 【W杯出場決定！ | 日本×フィリピン｜ハイライト】なでしこジャパンが大勝で10大会連続10回目のワールドカップ出場決定！｜AFC女子アジアカップオーストラリア2026 - YouTube
Kracie Cup highlights: 【公式】ハイライト：AC長野パルセイロ･レディース vs 日テレ・東京ヴェルディベレーザ【2025/26 WEリーグ クラシエカップ グループステージ第5節】 - YouTube 【公式】ハイライト：ジェフ千葉レディース vs マイナビ仙台【2025/26 WEリーグ クラシエカップ グループステージ第5節】 【公式】ハイライト：INAC神戸レオネッサ vs ちふれASエルフェン埼玉【2025/26 WEリーグ クラシエカップ グループステージ第5節】 【公式】ハイライト：RB大宮アルディージャWOMEN vs サンフレッチェ広島レジーナ【2025/26 WEリーグ クラシエカップ グループステージ第5節】 【公式】ハイライト：三菱重工浦和レッズレディース vs セレッソ大阪ヤンマーレディース【2025/26 WEリーグ クラシエカップ グループステージ第5節】 【公式】ハイライト：アルビレックス新潟レディース vs ノジマステラ神奈川相模原【2025/26 WEリーグ クラシエカップ グループステージ第5節】 - YouTube
I won't say I'm afraid or expecting an upset, but South Korea's style of play reminds me Nadeshiko the most of all Asian Cup teams. Soft touches, mobility, technical, combinatory attacking football with some nice flair. I find them attractive to watch.
Other Matches Korea vs Uzbekistan ...#25 of Uzbekistan had no intention to play by the rules as she ruthlessly chopped down several Korean Women near the very end of the game with what I could see were quite flagrant fouls. Puzzled why no red card was issued especially on that brutal tackle that resulted in one of the Korean woman's leg being twisted like a Octoberfest Barvarian Pretzel. I felt bad for that particular Korean Woman's player as she was clearly a very skilled player and I hope she is okay. Very Happy Nadeshiko never had to play Uzbekistan not because Uzbekistan are a strong team but some of their lower skilled players resort to such devil's work with the game clearly out of reach and #25 could of disabled one of the Nadeshiko player's for no reason if it was a Japan match up. Blissett Post #806 ...Yoko Tanaka I have a soft spot for her and her Younger Nadeshiko Team of her era of very skilled and fun loving players. Clearly most of them if not all did not get a fair chance to play and many of those potential careers were lost. Everytime I hear of Yoko Tanaka and how she was never give a fair opportunity I am very sad. I weep. .. Match Japan vs Philippines ...not much to add to what has been already contributed to this forum by its esteemed members of contributors ...as Blissett and Manchester Nadeshiko have alluded to that all these matches to this point have been simulated "training" matches and Nadeshiko where not seriously battle hardened in all facets of the pitch except for in the areas of patience, persistence, creativity and passing prowess. ...I can appreciate the concern that Blissett and Manchester Nadeshiko may express due to the absence of a worthy opponent that has provided a serious offensive attack against the Nadeshiko back line of defense and consequently there could be a lack of being tested in the firing line when faced with a opponent with more serious offensive power and a move positive offensive type of dynamic play. Moving forward to our Match with Korean Women's National Team ...clearly i think Korea is more a Nadeshiko type of team in the way they pass and have positive movement on the ball. Korea has a savy #10 I believe who used to play in the Japanese Women's League and also in Chelsea and is kind of like a Sawa like respected figure in Korean Women's Football. I have confidence Japan Nadeshiko will win this match due to its more skillful group of players with international experience but its going to be more back and forth kind of football unlike all of Nadeshiko's previous matches and Nadeshiko is going to have to match the energy and tempo of the Korean Women's Team. If Nadeshiko loses it will all boil down to two words. Coach Nielsen. No excuses as Nadeshiko have some of the most abundant pool of skillful and world class players in the History of all Nadeshiko and if they lose its all on Coach Nielsen for mismanagement of his embarrassment of riches. It's completely incumbent on CN to carefully orchestrate that talent pool for maximum results and efficiency. Absolutely nowhere on this path to lifting the Asian Cup Trophy if there is failure then in my opinion its on him. So I wish CN and his team well.
I think there must be a mistake as Manchester Nadeshiko and pierre bezukhov don't have the same teams.
Ji So-Yun, who used to play with INAC Kobe Leonessa in Japan and then was in Chelsea for several seasons. You compared her with Homare Sawa: she's actually old enough (she's 35) to have played along with her in INAC. (in the last edition of the AFC Asian Cup, I uselessly hoped that South Korea could have won, instead of China, as a tribute to her career; today, I am sorry for her, but I hope her team will be beaten by Japan).
Nils Nielsen (Coach): As expected, the Philippines are a disciplined team, and it wasn't an easy match until we scored the first goal. After scoring the opening goal, I think we were able to play the game at our own pace. I feel that the players have started to choose their shots wisely when they have the opportunity, which has contributed to our goals in this tournament. We are happy to have qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup, but we are approaching this AFC Women's Asian Cup with respect, so we want to focus on fighting to win the championship. In our next match against South Korea, we want to focus on giving our best performance rather than being overly conscious of our opponent. DF #6 Toko Koga (Tottenham Hotspur/England): We had anticipated from the start that the Philippines would sit back and play a solid defense, so even when we went through a period without scoring, we focused on continuing to play our own style of football without panicking. Scoring the opening goal towards the end of the first half was a big boost for the team, and I think it was a good time to score, allowing us to play the game more efficiently. We hadn't scored from a set piece until now, so getting a result from that was a big achievement, and I think it will put pressure on South Korea, our next opponent, so I see it as a positive. I'm relieved that we've qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup, but in the semi-finals and final, I want to continue keeping clean sheets as part of the defense and secure solid victories. MF #18 Honoka Hayashi (Everton/England) In the first half, we went through a long period without scoring, but I think it was significant that we were able to score before halftime by not rushing and waiting for our chances. It was good that we were able to produce results from set pieces against an opponent that was sitting back and defending tightly, and I'm also pleased that we were able to implement the shared understanding of kicking styles among the kickers in the match. I personally focus on kicking low, fast, and high-quality balls in practice, and I want to continue to refine that. Qualifying for the FIFA Women's World Cup was our first goal, so I'm glad we achieved it, but from here on, the battle is to win the championship. We want to prepare well as a team for the next match. MF #20 Manaka Matsukubo (North Carolina Courage/USA) I'm incredibly happy to have scored my first goal for the national team. Up until now, I hadn't had a chance to play in the group stage, and many other players had achieved results, so while I was happy, I also felt frustrated and anxious. That's why I'm a little relieved that I was able to contribute to the team by scoring a goal. When I received the ball from Aoba Fujino, I saw an opponent in front of me, but I didn't think about the details too much and just went for it. I'm glad that my decision to just swing my leg resulted in a goal. I think the strength of this team is that we can win no matter who plays, so I want to do my best to fulfill the role I've been given in order to win the championship. FW #25 Remina Chiba (Eintracht Frankfurt/Germany) I'm very happy to have scored my first goal of the tournament. Before the second half, Aoba Fujino and I had discussed a strategy to aim for, and I'm glad that it led to a goal. I also talked with Hikaru Kitagawa, with whom I was playing vertically, about bringing out each other's strengths, and I felt that our teamwork was good. I'm trying out new roles like fullback for the national team, but the players around me are bringing out my strengths, so I really feel supported by my teammates. From here on, the intensity of our opponents will increase even more, but we've been able to train at a high intensity in our regular practice sessions, so I want to go into the next match with confidence and do my best to win the championship.