Asian Games Women's Soccer Semi-Finals: China's Women's Soccer Team and Japan's Women's Soccer Team's Exciting Battle
On the night of October 3, the Asian Games Women's Football Semi-Final was filled with smoke, the Chinese women's football team trailed the Japanese women's football team by 1-4 in the first half, but with the tenacious fighting spirit to pull back two goals in the second half, and finally lost 3-4, and have no connection with the final.
Prior to the match, the achievements of the Japanese women's soccer team had become a hot topic of discussion among fans. The domestic media called it Japan's second or third team, and fans gradually realized that conceding four goals in the first half was unacceptable, no matter how many teams Japan had.
In the second half, the situation changed suddenly. After the substitution of Yuzuko Shioetsu and Rei Chiba, the situation on the field was instantly reversed. After adjusting their mentality, the Chinese women's soccer team relied on their header ability to narrow the gap to one goal. Towards the end of the match, the Japanese women were even forced to stall for time, which is extremely rare in the Japanese national team.
As the whistle blew for the end of the match, Japanese women's soccer head coach Natsuno Renjiu led the team to bow to Chinese women's soccer head coach Shui Qingxia. Natsuno said that the performance of Chinese women's soccer team in the second half has benefited the young Japanese women's soccer team, and the players have learned a lot in the game.
In the first half, the Japanese women's soccer team attacked fiercely and threatened constantly; in the second half, it was just like a first-time player and could only be beaten passively. What is the origin of this Japanese women's soccer team?
Although the Japanese media calls it the Japan B team, it is not really appropriate. The team is based on the Japan U20, with the addition of some players who have excelled in the WE League (Japan's women's soccer league). The average age is just 21, with the oldest player, Makoto Ueno, being 27. Of the 21-man roster, only seven are over the age of 23.
Don't underestimate them, despite their youth, they were members of the 2022 U20 Women's World Cup runners-up, including Sae Amano, Yuzuki Yamamoto, Aina Tada, and Zhu Yu. Reina Chiba, who scored in the first half, also played in this summer's Women's World Cup, but only as a substitute.
Meanwhile, players like Kino Obara and Tazuko Koga are only 17 or 18 years old, yet they are already among the world's leading women's soccer players of their age. They missed out on the U20 Women's World Cup last year, and this is the first time they've participated in the Asian Games as Japanese internationals. These players will be the rivals of the Chinese women's soccer team in the next decade.
While most of the teams participating in the 2023 Women's World Cup landed in the Euroleague this summer, the players selected from the WE League are by no means generic. Shuno Nakajima, who scored in the first half, is the centerpiece of Sanfrecce Hiroshima's midfield, while Meiko Shimada and Urawa Ruby's key players up front are the most representative of the WE League as a whole.
The U20 coach of this Japan women's soccer team is Renku Kano, not the regular coach, Mrs. Ikeda. This is because the team is tasked with influencing the 2024 U20 Women's World Cup, and Rengu Kano, having coached the Japan Women's U16-U19, knows the players inside out.
Many fans may suddenly realize that Japan's women's soccer team sent its so-called B-team to the Asian Games not to win, but to work out.
The Japanese Football Association believes that the Asian Games are not worth letting go of key players such as Hinata Miyazawa and Risa Shimizu, who will not be released by Premier League clubs. But for young players, the Asian Games is the ideal training ground.
Not long ago, in the article introducing the Chinese U15's victory over the Japanese U15's, we had said that Japan has a rich reserve of youth training results, with about four to five hundred players. This phenomenon is not only reflected in the level of men's soccer, but also in the level of women's soccer. Although there is a serious phenomenon of "inward roll" of players, the lack of high-level international matches in Japan has also led to a serious waste of Japanese soccer talent.
Midori Honda, a famous Japanese women's soccer player and current Uzbekistan women's soccer coach, pointed out, "Without high-level competitions, we can't pick the best players, but it also leaves the existing players with no avenues to move up and see no room for their own advancement. Worst of all, the players don't know what the internationally popular style of soccer is, and this will affect the future development of Japanese soccer."
In response to this situation, the JFA also took a number of measures. During the Shinkansen epidemic, as international matches were halted, the JFA arranged for young female soccer players to play against boys' teams from various high schools; after the epidemic ended, the JFA continued this move by organizing overseas training camps.
At the same time, the young players of the Japanese women's soccer team were willing to play at a higher level and against more intense competition. Rengu Kano recalls, "After we finished second at the U20 Women's Soccer World Cup, our U16 and U17 players reached out to me and expressed their desire to have more opportunities to compete on the international stage. I think the runner-up performance gave the young players courage and confidence."
There is no doubt that the performance of the Japanese women's soccer team at the Asian Games is a visual reflection of their success in youth training. The key to the success of Japanese soccer is that they have a very clear concept of the soccer development process, from the players and the coaching staff to the managers and senior executives, and they are able to implement the concepts and plans developed from start to finish.
Japan has a big family and sends a B team to the Asian Games, they have the capital. What about us?
The Asian Games is a no-brainer for the Sports Authority behind all the athletes. No one dared or allowed the Chinese women's soccer team to play like Japan. Our young players missed such a crucial training opportunity. Even if we could play like that, we don't have that many players with strengths close to those of the Chinese women's soccer players.
After the World Cup, the players had very limited time to rest, and their physical condition was certainly not comparable to that of the Japanese women's soccer team. The reason why the Chinese women's soccer team was passive in the first half was actually the result of their accumulation to the limit. Therefore, the score of the first half does not reflect the real level difference between the Chinese women's soccer team and the Japanese women's soccer team.
From a match point of view, the Japanese women's soccer team quickly got themselves excited in the first half, and inexperience became the main reason for the sudden change in the second half. If two more years go by, and if this Japanese women's soccer team goes through the tournament, then the gap between us may be completely defined.
In fact, there's something else that visualizes the progress of Japan's women's soccer team over the past year: Riko Ueki, who scored two goals against China at the Asian Cup early last year, has not only become a striker in the WE League, but also landed in Europe after the Women's World Cup of Soccer. Although we also have Premier League players like Zhang Linyan, the emergence of a new Riko Ueki on the Japanese women's soccer team is the scariest thing of all.
So don't blame Shui Qingxia, she did her best.
Some fans say the women's team is still honored by their failure, some are still trying to prove that "women's soccer is better than men's soccer", and some still believe that as long as Wang Shuang and Wang Shanshan are energetic, we still have a chance to do well until the Paris Olympics and the next World Cup.
Being optimistic and bad does not hide the current situation and the fact that Chinese soccer is stuck in stagnation. I don't know to whom the task of revitalizing Chinese soccer will be entrusted, it will take years, confidence, unity, scientific and rational planning and persistent execution.
Perhaps in less than a few months, when the tournament comes around again, the specter of defeat may once again loom over Chinese soccer.
