Japan put on a commanding performance to beat China 2-0 in their AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Thailand semi-final at the Thammasat Stadium.
The six-time champions eased into their fifth consecutive final and will meet defending champions North Korea on Sunday in what promises to be a titanic showdown.
Japan had China on the defensive from the start, and their steady build-ups paid off five minutes in when Noa Fukushima teed up Mao Itamura, who coolly controlled the ball in the area and as the opposing defence bore down on her, slammed it past keeper Liu Chen.
Yu Jiaqi had the chance to reply almost immediately for China, breaking free of her marker and bursting down the left but Japan custodian Uruha Iwasaki proved up to the task by coming off her line to block the shot.
The match slowed down but sprang to life again in the 24th minute through a brilliantly-struck free-kick from Fukushima, who doubled Japan’s advantage by curling her shot into the bottom right under a diving Liu Chen despite the custodian’s best attempts to narrow the angle.
Liu Chen kept the scoreline down in the 33rd minute by punching away Asako Furuta’s chip from just inside the area, then denying Natsumi Tago’s follow-up in a goalmouth scramble before Mone Sato ballooned the ball over.
Itamura could have increased Japan’s lead five minutes before the break when – after being sent through by Yura Honda – she glided past two defenders on the left only to fire past the right post.
China started the second half on a more aggressive note as Wang Aifang tested Iwasaki with a low 25-yard strike eight minutes in, with the action then swinging to the other end where Liu Chen made a point-blank save from Mitsuki Ota’s poked attempt.
The China keeper stretched her leg out to deny a similar close-range attempt from Tago in the 63rd minute and then punched out a cross from Yuna Aoki that swung across the face of the goal before a lurking Itamura could reach the ball.
Liu Chen again prevented her side from conceding a third goal by parrying a vicious free-kick on the edge of the area from Fukushima in the 85th minute but with China unable to find a way past at the other end despite some valiant attempts, Japan strode confidently into the final.
