“We had new heroes today and I’m happy with that,” said Shirai. “Kikuchi has the potential to create chances by herself and that’s her very clear strength, and she’s getting better from match to match.”

Shirai, who selected his top players despite qualifying for the semi-finals after Matchday Two, also singled out his defenders and keeper Mao Fukuda.

“The five defenders and the goalkeeper have been playing so well that the players in front of them could do whatever they wanted,” he said. “Overall, our players were 100% on the pitch and I’m satisfied with their game.” 

China PR beat Australia and Thailand to qualify for the semi-finals prior to Monday’s match with head coach Gary van Egmond admitting Japan had been their toughest test to date.

“This game was on a different level for us and it was difficult,” he said. “Japan’s a good team and while we didn’t stay with how we wanted to do things, it was a great experience for our young players, who have done extremely well up to this point.

"Our work ethic was good, and there were moments when we played quite well but our consistency was not as much as we would have liked,” he added. “But we will look to see where we can keep making improvements.”