By Sophie Puodzius

USA vs Japan

A late goal in extra time by Trinity Rodman sees Japan knocked out at the quarter final stage for the second time running.

The USA started on the front foot, dominating possession and dictating play. However, Emma Hayes’ side showed signs of uneasiness with a few misplaced passes and loose touches that resulted in Japan stealing possession.

This could be attributed to the change in their midfield structure with Sam Tierney serving a one match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards meaning that Lindsey Horan and Korbin Albert were played out of position. Albert was isolated in defensive midfield meaning that America frequently lost the ball in these areas which allowed the Japanese to counter attack.

The Americans have tended to be most dangerous in the wide areas throughout the tournament with Emily Fox and Trinity Rodman combining especially well along the right-hand channels. Therefore, the Japanese focused their tactical game around blocking these areas which forced the US to take a more central route which likely disrupted their original game plan.

Despite having 78% possession going into half time, the Americans were unable to create any major chances as Japan’s defence did an incredible job in nullifying the huge threat posed by their front line.

When the Japanese regained possession, they struggled to get out of their own halve due to the USAs high press which forced the Nadeshiko to make careless mistakes.

Japan settled into the game as they took their chances on the break and exploited the space that they were given by the USA. As a result, America failed to commit numbers forward on attack for the fear of a counter attack by Japan. The Japanese wingers frequently beat their opposite numbers for pace which sent an early warning sign of their capabilities.

The USA continued to build from the back as a long ball from Fox was flicked on by Lindsey Horan before finding its way into the path of Sophia Smith. The renowned striker drove the ball forwards but took too many touches and fired her shot over the bar. This was a running theme throughout the first half as the USA were able to create goal-scoring chances but their decision making in front of goal let them down.

Against the run of play, the first major chance fell to the young Japanese Star Tanaka who created space for herself in the penalty area and turned neatly on the ball before taking a shot which fell into the gloves of Alyssa Naeher.

At the start of the second half, the Nadeshikos made a statement of intent with a flurry of attacks that tested the oppositions defence. They pushed higher up the pitch as USA mistakes gifted Japan a series of corners and free kicks from careless errors.

Japan continued their strong defensive display which frustrated the USA and made it difficult for them to break through the lines of play. A well-worked corner from the USA resulted in a curling effort from Mallory Swanson which went just wide of the Japanese goal.

Yui Hasegawa was a bright spark throughout who seemed to be everywhere on the pitch. She created a series of promising chances by making crucial interceptions and playing pinpoint through balls to her teammates. The Manchester City player commanded Japan's defence and marked Sophia Smith extremely well meaning that the American saw very little of the ball.

America struggled to find a forward outlet as a result of Japan's tight marking which meant that they lacked the forward momentum that we saw in previous games.

Going into extra time, both sides had failed to convert their chances meaning that the 0-0 deadlock remained.

The USA looked the more energised of the two sides for the first time as they attacked aggressively with their forwards running with more purpose than before.

The breakthrough goal eventually came from a brilliant pass from Crystal Dunn which was latched onto by Trinity Rodman who completed the run with a neat finish into the top corner from a tight angle. The well-organised Japanese defence allowed Rodman too much time and space on the ball to line up her stellar shot.

In fast response, Japan changed their style of play with two attacking changes with the aim of implementing a high press to force a late equaliser. It became the USAs turn to sit back and defend whilst Japan continued to drive the ball forwards.

The final whistle finally blew and the sheer relief on the faces of the American players was clear to see as their hard fought victory saw them earn their place in the Olympic semi-final.

As for Japan, their relentless efforts simply weren't enough as they were knocked out of the Olympics at the quarter final stage after a campaign to be proud of.

 

Teams:

USA: Naeher, Dunn, Sonnett, Girma, Fox (Kruger 121’), Horan, Albert, Lavelle (Nighswonger 105’), Smith,Swanson (Williams 90’), Rodman

Scorers: Rodman (105’+2)

Japan: Yamashita, Minami, Kumagai, Kitagawa (Chiba 105’), Nagano, Hasegawa (Hayashi 105’), Koga (Takahashi 90’), Moriya, Fujino (Miyazawa 81’), Tanaka (Ueki 70’), Seike (Hamano 46’)