On the afternoon of May 13, Beijing time, the third round of the U17 Women's Asian Cup group stage began, including a key battle in Group B, in which the Chinese women's football team played against the Japanese women's football team. In the end, the Chinese women's football team failed to continue the winning streak and lost 0-4, seeing the Japanese women's football team win 3 consecutive wins and accumulate 9 points to lock the top spot in the group, so that in the next semi-final matchup, the Chinese women's football team will compete with the North Korean women's football team for a final qualification.
This is a battle for the top spot in the group, after the first two rounds, the Chinese women's football team and the Japanese women's football team have won 2 consecutive games at the beginning, and have locked the semi-finals in advance, but the Chinese women's football team is behind the Japanese women's football team on goal difference, temporarily ranking second in the group, and only winning in the last round can win the first place in the group.
The main reason why the Chinese women's football team hit the top spot in the group is that after breaking into the semifinals, they can avoid the North Korean women's football team, the favorite, and increase the probability of advancing to the final. Since the Japanese women's football team is the defending champion, it is not easy for the Chinese women's football team to win, and they need to play extraordinarily.
After the opening, the Japanese women's football team attacked fiercely and tried to grab a good start. In the 4th minute, the Japanese women's football team made a long pass to the front court, Chen Rui made a key defense, and then goalkeeper Hou Shulin saved the opponent's shot from a small angle.
In the 8th minute, the Chinese women's football team was breached by the goal:
The Chinese women's football team's defense in front of the goal was out of position, the Japanese women's football team's side cross hit the post and popped up, and Fukushima Wangai followed up with a follow-up shot to score, leading 1-0.
In the face of conceding a goal shortly after the opening, the Chinese women's football team did not mess up, and the players patiently organized the pass and created a good opportunity to score.
In the 15th minute, the Chinese women's football team passed through the Japanese women's football team's defense, Li Yuhan crossed after winning the ball, and the ball was cleared by the opponent's defender.
In the 28th minute, Lin Yuyan took the ball in front of the court and adjusted one step to choose to shoot directly from a distance, but the ball was confiscated by the opponent's goalkeeper because the angle of the ball was too positive.
In the 45th minute, the Chinese women's football team was robbed at the back, and goalkeeper Hou Shulin made a wonderful save to confiscate the ball.
According to half-time statistics, the Chinese women's football team is behind in all aspects, with less than 50% possession, only 1 on target from 2 shots, and 1 corner kick opportunity, while the Japanese women's football team has 5 shots on target from 11 shots and 4 corner kick opportunities.
Soon after the start of the second half, the Chinese women's football team continued to threaten.
In the 46th minute, Zhou Xinyi burst into the penalty area and turned to get rid of the defense, and the final shot was cleared by the defender in advance. In the 48th minute, Xiao Jiaqi's corner kick attack directly hit the goal, and the ball was saved by the Japanese women's football goalkeeper on the goal line, and the Chinese women's football team almost equalized.
In the 74th minute, Hana Kikuchi scored with a single push to help the Japanese women's football team expand the score 2-0.
In the 86th minute, the defenders of the Chinese women's football team made a mistake to give gifts, and Hana Kikuchi broke the ball and single-handedly pushed into the net, completing a brace and helping the Japanese women's football team lock up the win 3-0.
In the following game time, the Chinese women's football team still failed to score in the attack, and conceded another goal at the last moment, and finally lost by 4 goals.
After losing to the Japanese women's football team, the Chinese women's football team accumulated 6 points in 3 rounds to lock up the second place in the group, and will face off against the North Korean women's football team, the winner of the other group, and the winner advanced to the final.
According to the regulations, the top three finishers of this tournament qualify for the 2024 Women's World Cup in Dominica from October 16 to November 3, 2024. Therefore, the Chinese women's football team can only lock in the ticket to the World Junior Championship in advance by defeating the North Korean women's football team.