Vietnam lose 0-3 to Japan in Asiad women’s football semifinal

Vietnam lose 0-3 to Japan in Asiad women’s football semifinal

The Vietnamese women could only keep their sheet clean till the 25^th minute of their match with reigning world and Asian champions Japan.

From a corner shot, the ball was lobbed into the Vietnamese box and keeper Kieu Trinh punched it out toward Japanese midfielder Sakaguchi Mizuho, who then blasted a close-range shot to open the scoring.

Five minutes earlier, Japan drove the ball rolling into the Vietnamese net but the goal was disallowed for offside.

Goalkeeper Kieu Trinh twice saved Vietnam from conceding more goals in the last minutes of the first half when she denied two shots from a close distance by the Japanese women.

Vietnam were under intense pressure created by Japanese attackers although they did try to stage counterattacks following the first goal.

Nine minutes into the second half, Japan lifted their advantage to 2-0. The ball hit the crossbar and bounced back to Japanese defender Kitahara Kana, who passed it for Osafune Kana to jump up and head home.

In the 74^th minute, the Japanese extended the gap to 3-0. Midfielder Miyama Aya launched an attack along the right wing before her cross found substitute Sagasawa Yuika who then netted the third goal.

Japan were crowned queens at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany after beating the United States 3-1 in a penalty shootout, following a 2-2 draw after extra time. They were the first Asian team to win the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Japanese women went on to defeat Australia 1-0 in the finale of the 2014 Asian Cup in Vietnam to capture their first such title.

Vietnam will take on either South Korea or North Korea, who will play in the other semifinal match at 6:00 pm (Vietnam time) on Monday, to fight for the bronze medal on Wednesday.

The 2014 Asiad opened in Incheon on September 19 and will close on October 4.