Australia U17 1-4 Japan U17
by Ben Gilby (11/5/24)
Above: Tahlia Younis (centre) breaks through for Australia against Japan. Photo supplied to Impetus by: AFC via Football Australia.
The Junior Matildas’ U17 Asian Cup dreams came to an end after they were beaten by Japan in their second group game in Bali despite putting in a hard-working shift against the defending champions.
The outcome means that Rae Dower’s side can no longer qualify for the semi-finals, but they still have one more match to play against Thailand on Monday which they will have high hopes to go out on a winning note.
Japan are always a tough prospect to come up against in this tournament having won the trophy on four occasions across the eight times it has been held, and finishing as runners-up twice. Indeed, their worst finish across those eight tournaments has been third place.
Going into this encounter, Australia head coach Rae Dower gave Indiana Dos Santos a start, less than a week after her starring role for Sydney FC in the A-League Women Grand Final and was rewarded with an excellent display by her captain. Also coming in were Western Australia’s Ruby Cuthbert, who was neat and tidy in her passing, and Annabelle Yates into the defence.
However, the Junior Matildas suffered the worst possible start as the defending champions went 2-0 up inside the opening 10 minutes. Momo Sato showed great control to beat her marker and dispatch the ball into the net with three minutes played. She then grabbed a second from close range in the box.
Australia worked hard to overcome this tough baptism and established themselves in the game. Whilst they had their chances, notably when Sienna Dale was found by a typically defence-dissecting pass from Dos Santos, they were not able to reduce the deficit.
Japan would ultimately make the Junior Matildas pay by extending their lead further after the hour mark as Miharu Shinjo took the ball around Caoimhe Bray and dispatched it into the net. Hina Hirakawa would make it 4-0 with 10 minutes to go with a rocket of a shot.
The final word went to Australia six minutes into stoppage time when Danella Butrus was felled in the box, and Dos Santos dispatched the penalty.
Japan’s win sealed their qualification for the semi-finals along with China, who defeated Australia’s final group opponents Thailand 3-0. The pair will face off on Monday to decide who wins Group B.
Across in Group A, North Korea guaranteed their last four spot with a 6-0 win over the Philippines. South Korea dispatched Indonesia 12-0 and will now face the Philippines in a winner-takes-all clash to decide the group’s other semi-finalist.
Teams: AUSTRALIA (4-4-2): Bray, Tartaglia, Cuthbert, Meyers (Bennett 83′), Younis (Francou 64′), Dale (Duong 64′), Dos Santos, Fuller (Butrus 46′), Yates, Khoshaba, Dundas.
Scorer: Dos Santos (pen) 90+6.
JAPAN (4-5-1): Sakata, Aoki, Makiguchi, Ota, Aso, Kikuchi (Furata 83′), Nezu (Sakaki 69′), Shinjo, Honda (Kinoshita 69′), Hirakawa, Sato.
Scorers: Sato 3′, 10′. Shinjo 65′, Hirakawa 80′.
Referee: Yang Shu-ting (TPE).
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