All good things must come to an end — even when those enjoying the ride most aren’t quite ready to disembark.
So it went for Nadeshiko Japan’s hopes of winning a second FIFA World Cup, silenced on a chilly Friday night in Auckland by a dominant Sweden that won not by neutralizing their opponents’ playbook, but by executing it better and using their physicality, height and superior technique to eliminate Japan in a second straight major international competition.
After four games of technically brilliant and visually dazzling soccer under head coach Futoshi Ikeda, Japan looked unusually tentative for much of the first half against the world No. 3 side, lacking the killer instinct it had demonstrated in the 4-0 rout of Spain or the dogged persistence of the round-of-16 victory over Norway.
Instead, Peter Gerhardsson’s Swedes managed to neutralize Japan’s midfield — particularly England-based Yui Hasegawa and Fuka Nagano — and press forward with vertical feeds and runs down the right flank that kept their opponents on the back foot.
In a sport that can be won or lost on a fraction of millimeter — just look at the penalty kick that clinched Sweden’s round-of-16 win over the United States — it’s no surprise that Sweden’s height advantage, an average of 171.6 centimeters to Japan’s 164.7, gave the Europeans an edge, enabling them to neutralize Nadeshiko passes and counters that easily tore apart the likes of Zambia and Costa Rica apart.
Both Sweden goals came from the team’s ability to physically flood the penalty area — first in the 32nd minute, when Amanda Ilestedt pounced on a second chance from a free kick, and then six minutes into the second half, when Filippa Angeldal converted from the spot after Nagano was found by VAR to have committed a handball after a corner kick.
Trailing 2-0, the dynamic Japan that had been missing in action for the first 70 minutes finally appeared, and the world held its breath as the possibility of another storybook comeback — and the day’s second game to go into extra time, following Spain’s win over the Netherlands — came into view through an assault of dizzying counterattacks.
Honoka Hayashi’s late goal ended goalkeeper Zecira Musovic’s supernatural run of form between the posts — with no shortage of luck, including a missed penalty by Riko Ueki in the 76th minute — but it was too little, too late, even after 10 minutes of stoppage time that felt like the game’s third half.
Though the result will come as a disappointment to Nadeshiko’s fans — both those at home and the new ones the squad collected on the way — the flair demonstrated by the team over these three weeks has shown that Japan has all the tools needed to again lift the trophy one day.
But with the rest of the world starting to catch up in terms of funding and player development, demonstrated in Australia and New Zealand by a number of stunning upsets from tournament debutants, it’s clear that Japan will need to invest at all levels.
That includes building an audience for the women’s game here.
The professional WE League, which starts its third season with its cup tournament later this month, has helped develop a new generation of Japanese players including Hinata Miyazawa, the country’s top scorer at this tournament.
But it has so far struggled to resonate with both dedicated soccer fans and the public at large, resulting in the reluctance of domestic media to invest in women’s soccer content.
FIFA’s failure to secure a Japanese broadcaster until one week before the tournament was, if nothing else, a wakeup call that more needs to be done off the pitch to replicate the groundswell of enthusiasm for the sport that continues to build around the world.
While it’s disappointing that the Japanese Football Association and the wider soccer community could not take full advantage of a rare Women’s World Cup played in a convenient time zone, they must now look toward the future — and figure out how to bring fans to a team that has captured hearts and minds wherever it plays.
With Ikeda likely to be handed a new contract and a mandate to lead Japan to glory at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Friday may not have been the end — just the end of the beginning.
What comes next, if the team performs to its potential, will be a sight to see.
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