‘Japanese storm’ moves to Vancouver as FIFA finishes in Winnipeg

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This article was published 16/06/2015 (4067 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

With just four goals in the preliminary round of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the defending champions from Japan have at least a small cloud around their chances to repeat.

Panic would be out of the question given that Japan won all three of its Group C matches, including Tuesday’s final match at Investors Group Field, 1-0 over Ecuador, and is on to the elimination rounds.

But more was expected from the Japanese, given their No. 4 world ranking and Ecuador’s lack of international experience with early results that saw them lose their first two games by an aggregate of 16-1.

“It’s not as if we are hiding anything,” Norio Sasaki, Japan’s head coach, said after the match. “We don’t have any secrets behind us.

“I think they’ve not been able to expose all their strengths. That could be the fault of the coach, myself. I think that we have to really prepare ourselves for the next round. I know that they can perform.

“I think the Japanese storm will be apparent. So I would caution everyone to be well prepared for the storm that could happen.”

That tempest can begin next Tuesday when Japan plays a third-place team from Group A, B or F in Vancouver.

Tuesday’s match marked the end of FIFA’s visit to Winnipeg. It now decamps the city, leaving the Manitoba capital as the only Canadian venue for the World Cup without a playoff game.

Sasaki’s side got a goal in the fifth minute on Tuesday from Yuki Ogimi and from there, the Ecuadorians seemed to improve their defending with time.

They had especially fine efforts from defenders Ligia Morera and Katherine Ortiz, not to mention the excellent goalkeeping of Shirley Berruz, who faced 20 Japanese shot attempts.

Sasaki noted that other countries have improved since the last World Cup in 2011, and in particular, Ecuador, which seemed to have improved during this tournament.

“With Ecuador, they were very persistent in their defence,” said Sasaki, who rested many front-line players who played big minutes in the first two victories.

“We were successful in landing a goal in the very beginning of the game,” he said. “We were not able to score any more but on the whole, I think we were able to do quite well in terms of possession of the ball.

“We’re happy that everyone was able to stand out on the pitch. I think there were scenes that the players performed well. We don’t want to be too much negative in our thoughts because we still have matches to look forward to in the next round.”

Ecuador had one dangerous chance in the second half and given the score, possibly making the Japanese nervous for a few moments.

But the experience and the improvement were certain consolation prizes, head coach Vanessa Arauz said.

“Our goal was to show why we are here,” Arauz said. “We earned our qualification. From a tactical viewpoint, it was difficult to play with (Japan) because of their style. They’re a very quick team.

“But despite the fact, we feel very pleased, very proud because football is not only outcomes, it’s moments and we learned a lot and we’ll continue working for the development of women’s soccer in Ecuador.”

Arauz said that her team’s lack of international experience — having played only against Central and South American countries previously — showed in this tournament.

“Most people probably thought if Cameroon scored six and Switzerland 10, that probably Japan was going to score 15,” she said. “But I think that’s what’s interesting in football; you never know what’s really going to happen.

“Our first idea was not to defend ourselves. If that was the case, we would have never reached their box.

“But our spirit is always to struggle, always to show why we’re here. That’s what we had in mind when we played today.

“For us, it was an honour to be able to play against them.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca