The hope for Japan was always to advance from the group stage of the women’s football tournament at the Paris Olympics — but it was never going to be easy.
Drawn alongside reigning world champions Spain, perennial contenders Brazil and African powerhouses Nigeria, Japan knew they needed to be near perfect if they were to survive the ‘group of death’ — even if there was a chance that finishing third could be enough to reach the quarterfinals.
In the end, near-perfection was exactly what Nadeshiko accomplished.
Having dropped their Group C opener 2-1 to Spain, the Japanese would bounce back in dramatic fashion as they scored twice in stoppage time for a thrilling 2-1 win over Brazil — and followed it up on Wednesday with a 3-1 victory over the Nigerians that secured second spot in Group C.
Ultimately, they did not even need to rely on progressing as one of the two best-performing third-placed teams.
Yet, after making it out of the ‘group of death’, any hope Japan might have had that things could get slightly easier in the next stage after soon faded when it was confirmed that their next opponents will be none other than United States.
The record four-time champions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, United States have bounced back from a disappointing last-16 exit in the most recent edition of the tournament to loom as the legitimate gold medal contenders in Paris.
Having racked up three consecutive wins against Zambia, Germany and Australia to top Group B, the Americans also boast the most prolific attack with nine goals — with new-generation talents Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman shining alongside the more-experienced Mallory Swanson.
While theirs might not have been as daunting a group as Japan’s, the USWNT still had their mettle tested against Germany and Australia and passed with flying colours.
United States will head into Saturday’s quarterfinal as heavy favourites. There can be no denying that.
Nonetheless, it isn’t exactly a foregone conclusion that they will cruise through and, for that, Japan have their earlier encounters to thank for.
