Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: As the countdown to the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup continues, the-AFC.com previews the clash between Japan and Australia - Asia’s two highest-ranked women’s teams at the Tournament of Nations in the United States.
Japan v Australia
FIFA Rankings: Japan 6, Australia 7
Head-to-head: 24 matches (Japan 10 wins, Australia 6 wins, 8 draws)
Last meeting: Japan 1 Australia 3 – 2016 Olympic Qualifiers; Osaka, Japan
Tameka Butt’s opening-day goal helped Australia conquer the World Champions – and a 30-year hoodoo – but their attention now turns to rivals from much closer to home; Asako Takakura’s Japan.
In a match that will potentially preview the 2018 AFC Women’s Asian Cup Final, Asia’s top two teams will face-off in San Diego later on Sunday with plenty of recent history fresh in the memory.
The sides have met seven times since 2010, often in crucial matches such as the 2014 AFC Women’s Asian Cup Final and a FIFA Women’s World Cup Quarter-Final (pictured above) in 2015.
The Nadeshiko prevailed in dramatic circumstances on both those occasions, but Australia exacted a measure of revenge in their last meeting, defeating the Asian champions 3-1 in Osaka during qualifying for the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Japan’s failure to qualify for those Games was the catalyst for the introduction of a new generation of players, a number of whom took the field in last Thursday’s tournament-opening 1-1 draw against Brazil.
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