Japan 4-0 Spain: Huge shock as Hinata Miyazawa double sees La Roja humbled at Women's World Cup in Wellington
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Updated 31/07/2023 at 11:45 GMT
After two clean-sheet wins to start the Women’s World Cup, it was back down to earth with a bump for Spain, who conceded three times in the first half to a rampant, counter-attacking Japan. La Roja just couldn’t cope with their opponents’ rapier thrusts forward, with Hinata Miyazawa netting a double. Spain hogged possession but conceded a fourth late on as Mina Tanaka got in on the act.
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Hinata Miyazawa struck twice as Japan secured top spot in Group C with a ruthless 4-0 victory over much-fancied Spain at the Wellington Regional Stadium.
The Nadeshiko forward stunned La Roja on 12 minutes when she rampaged on to Jun Endo’s exquisite pass from the left and coolly rolled the ball beyond Misa Rodriguez.
Spain monopolised the ball for long spells but were undone again just prior to the half hour when another Japan counter-attack saw Riko Ueki cut in from the left and fire a deflected shot in at the near post.
Miyazawa then netted a double for the second time in the tournament when she rifled a magnificent shot into the far corner from Ueki’s pass to claim her fourth goal of the competition five minutes before the interval.
The pattern continued in the second period with Spain failing to break down their opponent’s well-drilled defence and substitute Mina Tanaka rubbed salt in their wounds with a delightful fourth eight minutes from time.
The result sees Futoshi Ikeda’s side maintain their perfect record at the finals and set up a last-16 clash with Norway on Saturday.
Spain had only needed a point to claim top spot but struggled to create chances despite dominating possession, and a second-place finish means they will take on Switzerland next.
Talking Point
Japan’s game-plan works a treat as Spain toil. La Roja were seen by many as arguably the most impressive side in the tournament in the opening two matches – but that viewpoint will have changed dramatically following this defeat.
Jorge Vilda made just one change to his line-up in contrast to Japan’s five, but it was The Nadeshiko who looked like a unit more capable of a serious tilt for the trophy with a combination of exceptional, organised defending and relentless, efficient finishing.
Japan’s reward is a mouthwatering battle of the former champions, with Norway as the 2011 winners facing the 1995 winners and, on this evidence, Ikeda's side will head into the battle with nothing to fear from anyone left in the draw.
As for Spain, a sudden outbreak of porous defending will be a major concern heading towards the business-end of the tournament, while a toothless showing in attack with just two shots on target from 10 attempts despite over 77 per cent of possession, will leave them with plenty to think about in the days ahead.
Player of the match
Hinata Miyazawa (Japan). Not a bad 45 minutes of work for the 23-year-old as she moved top of the goalscoring charts with a masterclass in ruthless finishing. Two goals and an assist ensured her country secured the win they needed to end up at the summit of the pool, and her vibrant partnership with Ueki was too much for Spain’s sluggish defence to handle. With the job done, the forward was replaced at the interval as Japan look ahead to the challenges of the knockout phase.
Player Ratings
SPAIN: Misa Rodriguez 5, Carmona 5, Abelleira 5, Paredes 5, Batlle 6, Putellas 6, Galvez 6, Bonmatí 6, Caldentey 5, Hermoso 5, Paralluelo 6. Subs: Hernandez 6, Navarro 6, Redondo 6, Zornoza 6, Gonzalez n/a.
JAPAN: Yamashita 7, Minami 8, Kumagai 8, Takahashi 8, Endo 8, Nagano 8, Hayashi 8, Shimizu 8, Miyazawa 9, Ueki 8, Naomoto 8. Subs: Fujino 7, Moriya 6, Hasegawa 6, Tanaka 7, Sugita n/a.
Match Highlights
12’ – GOAL! – Spain 0-1 Japan. Hinata Miyazawa races on to a delightful ball in-behind the Spain defence from Endo and coolly rolls the ball into the bottom corner.
29’ – GOAL! – Spain 0-2 Japan. Another ruthless counter-attack catches Spain out once again. Miyazawa leads the charge through the middle and plays in Riko Ueki on the left. The forward cuts in from the edge of the area and fires a heavily deflected shot into the near top corner with Misa helpless in the Spain goal.
40’ – GOAL! – Spain 0-3 Japan. Miyazawa overlaps Ueki to surge through the Spain defence once again and arrow a lovely finish into the far corner from just inside the area.
82’ – GOAL! – Spain 0-4 Japan. Tanaka puts the icing on the cake by cutting in from the right and curving a sensational strike into the top corner.
Key Stats
Japan claimed their first World Cup win against a side ranked in the FIFA top ten since July 2015.
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