Japan 4 – 0 Canada
The Japanese started strong in their fixture against Canada at the IAI Stadium Nihrndaira, Shimizu-ku.
The host nation set the tempo of the game by scoring in the first 6 minutes when their n0. 8, Mana Iwabuchi, took the ball from Nakajima to put it past Canada’s Stephanie Labbé.
By half time they were up but it seems the Japanese were not happy with their lead and needed more fire power on the pitch; since midfielder, Narumi Miura was taken off for Nippon TV Beleza’s Yuka Momiki. 20 minutes into the second half the positive change was rewarded with a goal from the substitute.
7 minutes later the Japanese had their third as Iwabuchi turned from goalscorer to provider; Yui Hasegawa finished off the play well. In a similar fashion, with seven minutes of extra time to play, Japan decided to sacrifice their midfield stability and brought on another striker, Rikako Kobayashi, who on then scored in the the second minute of the allowed four minutes on injury time.
