Japan hammer Spain on the break to top Women’s World Cup Group C
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Japan's Hinata Miyazawa celebrates scoring their third goal with Risa Shimizu and Honoka Hayashi as Spain's Olga Carmona looks away.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WELLINGTON – Hinata Miyazawa grabbed two goals to become the tournament’s leading scorer as former champions Japan put on a counter-attacking clinic to beat Spain 4-0 and lock up top spot in Group C at the Women’s World Cup on Monday.
A beaming Miyazawa said heading the race for the Golden Boot was a surprise and a “great pleasure”. “I never imagined it. All the goals are because of the other players giving me the right passes. So it’s everybody’s goal, not just me,” she added.
Riko Ueki also scored on the break as the Nadeshiko cut through Spain’s high press with three lightning raids in the first half, before substitute Mina Tanaka added the fourth with another quality strike eight minutes from time.
Japan, winners of the 2011 World Cup and runners-up in 2015, will remain in the New Zealand capital to play Norway in the last 16 on Saturday, while Spain will move north to Auckland to face Switzerland earlier on the same day.
“In the first and second games, we had more time to work with the ball but had to be wary of the counter-attack,” said Japan coach Futoshi Ikeda. “In this match against Spain, we knew we would have to defend for long periods. So we knew we would have to take advantage of every opportunity we had.”
Both teams had already qualified for the knockout stages after convincing wins in their first two matches, and Ikeda made five changes to his side for the clash at Wellington Regional Stadium.
Spain took the initiative from the start and Japan’s opener in the 12th minute was very much against the run of play. Jun Endo on the left wing curled a pass behind the Spanish defence and Miyazawa raced in to coolly slide it into the net with her left foot.
It was Miyazawa’s third goal of the tournament after a brace against Zambia and the first Spain had conceded in their three games in New Zealand.
Spain continued to dominate possession and territory, but the Nadeshiko hit them on the break again in the 29th minute and Ueki, released by Miyazawa, fired a shot at goal that took a deflection off Irene Paredes and ballooned over Misa Rodriguez.
Ueki returned the favour for the third goal in the 40th minute with a through-ball that Miyazawa reached on the edge of the box and hammered past Rodriguez with her right foot.
Spain came out in the second half with more purpose but for all their possession and more than 900 passes, they were unable to seriously trouble a Japan defence who has yet to concede a goal.
“To win matches, you must not allow four goals to be scored against you,” said Spain coach Jorge Vilda. “I’m convinced that we’re going to change, we have not seen the best of the Spanish team yet. And I’m convinced that against Switzerland, the team will react positively.”
He added: “This is the worst defeat that the national team has had while I’ve been the coach. They are also affected by this defeat. It hurts. They are angry.”
Meanwhile, in the other Group C match on Monday, debutantes Zambia claimed their first-ever victory at the Women’s World Cup with a 3-1 win over Costa Rica at the Waikato Stadium.
Defender Lushomo Mweemba scored the fastest goal of the tournament so far, with a spectacular volleyed effort at two minutes and 11 seconds, and captain Barbra Banda doubled the lead from the penalty spot just after the half-hour mark.
Melissa Herrera cut the deficit two minutes after the break and Costa Rica pushed for an equaliser, but substitute Racheal Kundananji netted the third in stoppage time to ensure Zambia’s debut World Cup campaign ended on a high.
“It’s a historic day,” skipper Barbra Banda said. “We’ve had a lot of support back home so we wanted to win today... It was not an easy game for us. It was a battle.” REUTERS, AFP
