Football: Japan coach Sasaki already eyeing title

BOCHUM – Japan coach Norio Sasaki already has his eyes firmly fixed on the July 17 final after his side opened their bid for the Women’s World Cup title with a 2-1 win over New Zealand.

Sasaki’s ‘Nadeshiko’ are top of Group B with three points after rivals England had to settle for a 1-1 draw against Mexico in Wolfsburg on Tuesday.

And although the Japan coach admitted his side were pushed hard by New Zealand he believes the key to the title could lie in their group with difficult ties against Mexico and England on July 1 and 5 respectively.

“England is a fantastic team with discipline so if we beat England then I do feel we would be able to go to the final,” he said.

“Our next opponent is Mexico and we’ve played some friendlies, Olympic preliminaries and so on in the past. In recent years Mexico has gained power and improved. We feel it wouldn’t have been as easy against Mexico.”

A clinical Aya Miyama freekick after 68 minutes sealed the victory in the Ruhrstadion after Yuki Nagasato had put the Japanese ahead after six minutes.

Amber Hearn got a equaliser for the New Zealand Ferns after 12 minutes.

Sasaki believes however his side, ranked fourth in the world, can improve.

“The girls have actually done very well in terms of switching sides and that was our target. But they could improve on creating opportunities for the general flow of the game.

“Today we got three points but the girls did work hard and learned a lesson. Rather than winning easy, today’s exercise should be beneficial for the girls in winning a difficult match.”

New Zealand coach John Herdman, whose side will have to wait another few days before another attempt to gain a first World Cup point, believes 1995 quarter-finalists Japan will be hard to beat.

“Japan’s form is fantastic this year. I think this team could go on and be a major threat in this tournament,” he said.

“I don’t think the other teams will keep the ball as well as Japan. We’ve the toughest one over today. A point would have been a major achievement for New Zealand on the world stage but it wasn’t to be.”