Japan gave Spain an effective and fast football lesson with a 4-0 victory on Monday in Wellington, a result that allowed the Asian team to win their group in the Women's World Cup.
Both teams were already classified from Group C, and the result only defined that in the Round of 16, Japan will face Norway, while Spain will face Switzerland, both classified from Group A.
Japan opened the scoring in the 12th minute thanks to a fast counterattack by Hinata Miyazawa and extended their lead in the 29th minute through a quick combination with Miyazawa assisting Riko Ueki.
The third goal was more of the same: a fast play that surprised the Spanish defense, with Miyazawa scoring in the 40th minute, while the 4-0 was a personal incursion by Mina Tanaka in the 82nd minute that the Spanish players failed to stop.
The match was played on a freezing night at the Regional Stadium in Wellington with almost two-thirds of its capacity.
For the match on August 5th against Switzerland in the Round of 16, Spanish coach Jorge Vilda guaranteed a "different attitude" from his players.
- "More united than ever" -
"The team is going to be more united than ever, they will use the frustration and anger they feel for the next match and that's what we need against Switzerland," Vilda said in a press conference after the defeat.
Spain played their well-known possession football, which they usually use to dominate their opponents. However, this time they faced an impeccable defensive opponent and were surprised by quick plays.
Aitana Bonmatí acted as the conductor of the Spanish orchestra, distributing balls to her teammates who kept passing and passing in search of an opening that did not appear.
Japan broke through the Spanish lines for the first time with a deep cross from the left by Jun Endo, which Miyazawa turned into a goal. This formula was repeated with slight variations throughout the match.
Before and after the Japanese goals, Spain dominated in terms of territory and ball possession, but the real danger arose when the Japanese took control of the ball and launched it deep in search of their fast attackers.
The Japanese defensive organization proved to be a supreme challenge for Spain, who had previously won comfortably against Costa Rica (3-0) and Zambia (5-0) in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Ikeda celebrated that her team did not concede any goals in their three group stage matches of the World Cup and anticipated that she expects to maintain this record when Japan faces Norway on August 5th.
The team led by Vilda tried unsuccessfully to exploit the abilities of Alexia Putellas and the speed of Salma Paralluelo to crack the solid Japanese defensive scheme.
Spain increased the intensity in the second half, with better control of the Japanese forwards and more intensity in the search for a goal.
But time passed and the cracks in the Japanese defensive block never appeared.