Japan beat USA and qualify for U-17 Women's World Cup quarter-finals

USA star and captain Ashley Sanchez put her side in front in the first half with a composed finish, however, Japan proved to be too much for the Stars and Stripes as second-half goals from Riko Ueki, Oto Kanno and Hinata Miyazawa propelled the Little Nadeshiko to their third consecutive win of the tournament.

The first half in Amman was evenly matched with few clear-cut scoring opportunities created by either side. In the 32nd minute Ashley Sanchez managed to steer a shot on goal after Civana Kuhlmann had picked her out with a cross but Japan goalkeeper Momoko Tanaka made a comfortable save.

One minute later, Sanchez then gave USA the lead when she ran on to a goal-kick from USA keeper Laurel Ivory that Japan's defence failed to clear decisively. Sanchez calmly placed her shot past Tanaka into the opposite corner of the net as the Little Nadeshiko conceded their first goal of the tournament.

Ivory had to be at her best early in the second half when she dived low to make a superb save on a close-range shot from Ueki. However, Ivory could do nothing about Ueki's equaliser when the Japanese forward got her head on the end of a corner kick. USA were able to clear off their goalline initially but Ueki was there for the follow-up to bring the Little Nadeshiko level.

Japan then spurned a golden opportunity to complete their comeback in the 69th minute when, after good work from Sakura Nojima on the right wing, Miyazawa guided her close-range effort inches wide of Ivory's post right post. 

The Japanese completed their comeback with two goals in two minutes. First, Kanno scored her first of the tournament with a crisp finish after Miyazawa player her in with a precise pass. Japan's No8 then went from provider to scorer when she cut in on her right foot on top of USA's penalty area and struck a fierce shot with her right foot that squeezed past Ivory's post and in for Japan's third of the night.

Sanchez scored a consolation goal from the penalty spot after she was brought down by a mistimed challenge from Nana Ono but in the end, Japan claimed all three points and advanced to the last eight to send USA home. 

Japan coach Naoki Kusunose
This match comes after two losses to the USA at this level and in preparing for this I simply wanted to make the players excited to go out there and really want to win the game and the title. Our target was not revenge. Revenge is not a very appropriate word, especially for this age. Now we need to have some trust and self confidence in ourselves, even from the bench, even from outside the bench. I made a lot of changes today. It's because what mattered here is not just about the win and the game. We are thinking about all our players covering all positions. This is what matters for the team. The USA are a very strong team, of course we have to prepare very well, and that's what we are going to do.

USA coach B.J. Snow
First and foremost you have to give so much credit to Japan, the team, the coach, the Federation, for what they've built at the ýouth level. Playing against Japan, it's physically draining but its also mentally draining. I couldn't be more proud of how resilient our girls were tonight. As you saw from the game, our girls never quit. This team had never lost in two-and-a-half years until three days ago. When you have so much success and it comes to an end so quickly, you have a lot of lessons to learn. A big part of my responsibility is to prepare these players for what's next. This group was chosen because we feel they're an investment to get to the senior team - that's why there are 14 and 15-year-old girls in the team. You need the breaks sometimes and we didn't get many of the breaks today. This event has been first class from the moment we stepped off the plane. The people have been gracious and so welcoming. The country of Jordan should be extraordinarily proud. We were fortunate to be a small part of this history.

Sources: FIFA.com, FIFA/Getty Images