Japan defeats France
Japan booked their spot in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026 Round of 16 after defeating France 2-0 in their Group D tie last night.
Mei Hanashiro scored a brilliant last-gasp brace to secure a second successive victory for Japan and seal their place in the knockout stage with a match to spare.
Japan, who rang the changes in their starting line-up, were the dominant side against France but could not make their possession count until the final minutes of a tense encounter.
Hanashiro opened the scoring in the 88th minute with a long-range effort after excellent work from Asuka Tanaka to win the ball back.
The livewire forward, who came on the field as a 70th-minute substitute, then sealed the victory in the third minute of injury time to secure Japan’s place in the knockout stages.
RESULTS
Japan beat France 2-0
Canada beat Norway 3-2
Venezuela beat Zambia 3-2
Brazil drew Ghana 3-3
