Japan almost surely confirmed their AFC Women’s Asian Cup quarter-final spot after cruising 11-0 past India in their Group C tie at the Perth Rectangular Stadium.
Riko Ueki and Hinata Miyazawa starred with hat-tricks as Japan sizzled from start to finish while defeat for India means they have to beat Chinese Taipei in their final match on Tuesday to stand a chance of advancing.
India made three changes to the side that lost 2-1 against Vietnam while Japan rang in nine alterations, with only Mina Tanaka and Yui Hasegawa retaining their places from the side that started in the 2-0 win against Chinese Taipei.
Japan didn’t have to wait long to go ahead, opening their account in the fourth minute through a spectacular effort from Yuzuki Yamamoto after the Tokyo Verdy Beleza forward nutmegged Pyari Xaxa before curling her shot into the top left corner.
India struggled to control Japan’s advances and fell further behind in the 13th minute with Yamamoto turning provider. Her cutback was met by Yui Hasegawa, whose drilled effort nutmegged Sweety Devi Ngangbam before settling in the back of the net.
The third goal arrived seven minutes later from a well-worked move. Miyabi Moriya exchanged passes with Mina Tanaka before feeding Hasegawa, who teed-up Miyazawa to bury her shot into the top right corner.
Panthoi Chanu Elangbam did well to keep out Tanaka twice but was unable to prevent Japan’s fourth in the 35th minute when Miyazawa collected Tanaka’s through pass before calmly slotting past the Indian custodian.
Sweety’s foul on Saki Kumagai – playing her 165th match for Japan – led to Kiko Seike sending Panthoi the wrong way from the penalty spot in first half stoppage time.
The goals continued to pour after the break with second half substitute Ueki finding the net two minutes in, finishing from close range off Maya Hijikata’s cross before doubling her tally three minutes later following a poor clearance by Juli Kishan.
Seike doubled her tally in the 55th minute after Panthoi spilled Moriya’s cross into the path of the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder for an easy tap in before Hijikata converted Yamamoto’s cross with a glancing header in the 62nd.
Ueki completed her hat-trick three minutes later, finishing off Honoka Hayashi’s delivery with a glancing header before supplying Miyazawa with a sublime pass at the far post for her third and Japan’s 11th of the night to complete the impressive win.
In an earlier match, Chinese Taipei revived their hopes with a 1-0 victory over Vietnam in their Group C tie.
Su Yu-Hsuan scored with a close-range header in the 26th minute to get the East Asian side back on track after their opening day defeat to Japan while defeat was a blow to Vietnam’s hopes after having opened their campaign with victory against India.
Chinese Taipei head coach Prasobchoke Chokemor opted for an attacking line-up with Su Yu-Hsuan spearheading the frontline while Vietnam’s Pham Hai Yen took over the captaincy from Huynh Nhu, who was on the bench.
The East Asian side set the narrative with an aggressive high-press, Saki Matsunaga saw her low shot blocked inside the box in the fifth minute, while Yu-Hsuan created space for Chen Jin-wen, who clipped her shot wide five minutes later.
Having suffered a 2-0 defeat against Japan in their opener, Chinese Taipei showed renewed intent as their pace down the left troubled Vietnam and eventually led to the opening goal in the 26th minute.
Chen Yu-Chin combined neatly with Huang Ke-sin to find Hsu Yi-yun, who teed-up Matsunaga. Her shot struck the crossbar and the rebound fell kindly for Yu-Hsuan, who nodded home from close range.
Vietnam wasted a chance to draw level three minutes later with Hai Yen setting up Tran Thi Duyen inside the box but the midfielder mistimed her effort and sent the ball wide off the right post.
A sudden surge in tempo from Chinese Taipei almost produced a second goal in first half stoppage time but Tran Thi Kim Thanh pulled off a fine save to deny Wu Kai-Ching’s powerful drive.
Vietnam looked rejuvenated after the restart with Tran Thi Hai Linh and Huynh Nhu introduced, while Chinese Taipei suffered a setback in the 56th minute when Yu-Hsuan was forced off and replaced by Li Yi-Wen.
The fresh legs almost proved decisive for Vietnam in the 67th minute when Thai Thi Thao threaded a pass to Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy but her shot was blocked by Su Sin-Yun.
Another injury blow for Chinese Taipei saw Pan Yen-Hsin coming on to replace Chang Chi-lan in the 84th minute but with Vietnam failing to penetrate, the East Asian side held on for the win.
Victory for Chinese Taipei against India on Tuesday will likely confirm their quarter-final spot while Vietnam have it all to do against two-time champions Japan.
