If it was the first acid test for the Spanish team, it did not pass it. Japan, the first demanding opponent to be mediated, thrashed Jorge Vilda's team and endorsed him 4 goals, snatching first place in the group. Spain will face Switzerland in the round of 16 (Saturday, 7am).
Futoshi Ikeda won the tactical battle against Jorge Vilda. Japan, a team that likes to have the ball, showed that they know how to adapt perfectly to other contexts. Against Spain, the Japanese ceded possession to the rival and let them combine, waiting for them in their field, where they were waiting for them with intense pressure that made things very difficult for Spain.
The first part of the Spanish team was to forget. Japan, with a much clearer match script, sent three balls behind the deficient Spanish defense and scored three goals. Three shots, three goals. And he said goodbye to the first place in the group.
Without Ivana Andrés in the rear, out due to discomfort in the soleus, Jorge Vilda opted for Rocío Gálvez to accompany Irene Paredes in the axis of defense. A surprising decision considering that it had been Laia Codina who had had the confidence of the coach in recent months. The plan did not go well, the Cordovan was overcome time and time again in the counterattacks of the Japanese team.
And the problem could get worse if it is confirmed that Ivana Andrés's physical problems are more serious than they seemed. An untimely injury that reveals, once again, that Spain is not counting on some of its best footballers such as Mapi León or Patri Guijarro in this World Cup, due to their dispute with the Federation.
At 12 minutes into the game, the red conceded the first goal. A ball into space for Hinata Miyazawa, who won the position from Rocío Gálvez and finished off Misa's goal with pleasure. A move modeled on that of 2-0. In three passes, Japan planted itself in the Spanish area and Riko Ueki widened the distance with a shot that hit Irene Paredes' legs and slipped past Misa.
It was difficult for Jorge Vilda's team, who lost 2-0 before half an hour into the game. He had possession, but in a totally sterile way, and every time he crossed into the rival half, Japan intensified their pressure. Spain was not comfortable, very messy, both in attack and in defense. He barely finished off a couple of times in the entire first half. Two distant shots by Salma Paralluelo that did not pose any danger to the rival.
The scenario was not rosy at all, and five minutes before the break Miyazawa would make the wound bigger with the 3-0 score. A goal modeled on the other two in which the Nadeshiko planted themselves in the area in three passes to beat the goalkeeper canary without much opposition. Gálvez allowed Hinata to cross too comfortably and Irene Paredes did not manage to cover Miyazawa's shot well, which signed the double.
There was no shock in the second part. Jorge Vilda only seated Olga Carmona, who had a card, for Oihane Hernández. Spain continued to suffer from Japan's counterattacks and, although it had a little more offensive presence, it was more the result of the rival having slacked off than the merit of Vilda's team. The coach, following his script of the last games, changed Alexia Putellas after the hour of the game, to continue dosing his minutes. He couldn't find the key for his team to work and Tanaka finished sinking the team with your goal at minute 82. A poorly defended throw-in that the star of the Japanese team, who had started the duel from the bench and had entered the 67, he did not miss out to put the final 4 to 0. And the disaster could have been greater if the dangerous foul launched by Naomoto with time served had gone inside.
A painful win that breaks a clean sheet for Spain in the first two duels and that, despite the fact that it will not prevent the red from being in the round of 16, it will complicate the path in the knockout rounds. If they beat Ana Maria Crnogorcevic's Switzerland in the round of 16, they could face the United States in the quarterfinals.
