That’s two wins in two now for Australia who will face Brazil on Friday. If the USA and Brazil draw in today’s other game Australia will head into that Brazil match with an unassailable lead atop the standings. It’s not the World Cup, sure, but they’ll take it.
Thanks for your company, that’s me done. Have a good day.
Final thoughts
A dominant win by the Matildas today after they fell behind early doors. The damage was done in the first half, thanks mainly to striker Sam Kerr who will remember that 45 minutes well into her dotage. Her first-half hat-trick pushed Australia past Japan and out of sight and ensured Australia’s dominance was reflected in the scoreboard.
Japan’s high defensive line and inability to deal with Australia’s runners saw Kerr take full advantage. She restored parity in the 11th minute after a cross from Raso on the right put the ball on a platter. Kerr made the next goal herself after picking the pocket of Sakamoto and racing 40m to score cooly past Ikeda. Then, minutes before halftime, she got her third after another long run towards goal — this time scoring on the second attempt after her first shot was saved. A second-half penalty from Van Egmond completed the scoring for Australia.
Coach Stajcic won’t be happy with Japan’s late goal but he’d be a grinch if he’s anything but delighted after that performance.
What a performance from @TheMatildas. @samkerr1 with an amazing hat-trick. 2-4 #GoMatildas #JPNvAUS #ToN2017 pic.twitter.com/8ttGUtGOJC
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 30, 2017
Full-time: Japan 2-4 Australia
What a win by the Matildas!
GOAL! Japan 2-4 Australia (Momiki 93min)
And there is a goal but it’s Japan with a late consolation. Haji passes wide to Momiki, she passes inside to Tanaka who uses the sole of her boot to back pass it to Momiki cutting inside. Momiki lashes the ball into the goal. It may have taken a slight deflection but it was well hit.
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90 min + 2: De Vanna is sweating on the Japan defenders, trying to pilfer the ball and get herself a goal but time is running out.
90 min: A sweet turn by De Vanna shakes off Tanaka on the left wing. She runs into the Japan box but a well-timed sliding tackle dispossess her. Australia do little of note with the corner.
89 min: Now it’s Gorry being replaced. Alex Chidiac comes on in the dying minutes, earning her fourth cap.
88 min: Gorry tries to set Ibini free down the right but she overcooks her through ball and she throws her head back in frustration.
86 min: Japan corner, but it’s a shocker, Momiki scuffing it straight to the first defender.
83 min: That was Kerr’s last involvement in this match as she is replaced by Princess Ibini:
82' | SUB @TheMatildas. @samkerr1 is replaced by Princess Ibini and leaves the pitch to a standing ovation. 1-4 #GoMatildas #JPNvAUS pic.twitter.com/PNatR40Yex
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 30, 2017
83 min: Kerr with a chance now! De Vanna does well to skip clear on the left and she slides a cross to Kerr who tries to hit home with the outside on her right boot from an angle. Just misses.
82 min: Kerr in space on the right... she squares to the Japan penalty spot where Foord hammers a shot straight into a defender.
81 min: Sam Kerr conducts a 3 v 3 breakaway — she slips a pass right to Gorry who’s back-post cross finds Tameka Butt, but her header lands on the roof of the net.
79 min: Japan sub: Nakajima goes to the bench replaced by Haji, who is on debut. Moments later a dangerous cross across the face of Australia’s six-yard box is defused by Polkinghorne’s extended leg.
76 min: A ball from midfield deflects into the path of De Vanna who has only the keeper to beat. You can’t blame her for going for goal — except when she misses. Gorry was inside De Vanna in acres of space. A square ball would have left Gorry with a tap in.
74 min: De Vanna tries to run through the back of Oya who is blocking the Australian off the ball. Da Vanna give her a shove and it’s an obvious free kick to Japan. Before the kick is taken the Aussies makes another sub: Van Egmond goes off, replaced by Tameka Butt who scored that winner against the USA.
And here’s another sub: Raso goes off for Ellie Carpenter. A fine game for Raso whose good work on the right set up Kerr’s opener.
71 min: De Vanna finds Kerr overlapping. She drives to the byline where her attempt at a cross is put out for a corner. Kellond-Knight knocks it over to the near post but, under no pressure, Japan head it away.
69 min: A break and long pass from Hasegawa is snuffed out by the extended leg of Kennedy.
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67 min: A catch up on some Aussie subs: Gielnik and Logarzo are off, replaced by de Vanna and Foord respectively.
65 min: I must admit, I wasn’t expecting this, especially after that early Japan goal. There is the sense that, to look at the bigger picture, Japan, who are in a rebuilding stage, are on a downward trend, while Australia are on the up. But you don’t tend to score four goals past Japan with 30 minutes left on the clock.
GOAL! Japan 1-4 Australia (Van Egmond 62)
Van Egmond hits it low and right and it nestles in the corner of the net. Australia moving away, and surely safe now.
Penalty to Australia!
A rough call, I think, after a crossed ball hits the arm of Hasegawa which is by her side. Van Egmond to take the spot kick...
60 min: Japan should have scored there! After a smart one-two Hasagawa is put clear down the left flank. She runs deep into Aussie territory and crosses perfectly to Nakajima running into the six-yard box. But the Japan captain just can’t get good purchase on it and Australia are spared.
58 min: Twitter is appreciating the work of Sam Kerr this morning:
@TheMatildas if @samkerr1 met the Queen of England, the Queen would curtsy to Sam! #bowdown #SamKerrFacts
— Amy Franks (@AmyEIizabeth6) July 30, 2017
56 min: Kerr crosses dangerously across the face of goal where it evades everyone. Kellond-Knight retrieves it and lays a ball off to Van Egmond who has time but can’t keep her shot down. That was a good chance to seal this game.
54 min: Kellond-Knight with a free kick from the right. She takes it with her left and it bends in towards the head of a yellow shirt but it ends up in the hands of Ikeda after a glancing header from Kennedy, I think, does little more than loop.
52 min: Japan are definitely trying to give Australia less time on the ball. Still, Egmond finds herself on the left edge of the Japan box. She takes a touch to skip inside onto her right but by the time she takes her shot the Japan defenders have smothered it.
50 min: After hustling Australia’s defenders, Japan win the ball back. After a nice interchange of passes Sumida finds enough space to attempt a shot from distance. But she doesn’t get enough on it nor find the target. An early sign that perhaps Japan won’t allow Australia so much time at the back this half.
47 min: And a snap shot from Nakajima —after the Aussies fail to deal with a ball in their box— stings the gloves of Arnold. A foot wider and that would have been a goal to Japan and changed the face of this match.
Peeeeeep!
45 min: An early throw in to Japan...
We’re about to start the second half, Japan to kick off. The Matildas are in a huddle. I expect someone is saying, “This isn’t over yet.”
I said 9.5, seems fair enough:
JUMPING FOR JOY!! @samkerr1 has herself a first-half hat-trick and @TheMatildas lead Japan 3-1 at half-time at #ToN2017. #JPNvAUS pic.twitter.com/0Sx7G2jaDj
— ABC Grandstand (@abcgrandstand) July 30, 2017
Half-time: Japan 1-3 Australia
And that’s that; Australia go to the sheds with a two-goal buffer after conceding an early goal. Sam Kerr the standout with a first-half hat-trick.
Back in a tick.
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45 min: Japan play out from the back and after a series of lovely passes Nakajima gets into space on the right. She finds Sakamoto on the left and she gets in a shot but it’s hit too weakly to trouble Arnold.
44 min: Gielnik whips in freekick from wide on the left and it has the keeper beaten... but not the crossbar.
GOAL! Japan 1-3 Australia (Kerr 42)
Hat-trick to Kerr! A slightly wild defensive hoof bounces on the halfway line. Last line of defence, Ichise, leaps for the bouncing ball but Kerr zips in and heads behind her. This leaves her with the opportunity to run 40m down the centre. Her first shot is saved by the feet of Ikeda, but the rebound falls to Kerr and she slides the ball into an empty net! And there’s a wonderful backflip to celebrate! 9.5!
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40 min: Catley is a bit ginger after a rigorous tackle brings her down. She’s trying to walk it off. No sign of the magic sponge, which, sadly, doesn’t get much of a go in football these days. I recall my yoof where a bucket of water with a fat sponge in it was standard sideline equipment.
39 min: Kitagawa and Gielnik bump shoulders as they chase a ball rolling towards the byline. Just before it rolls out for an Aussie goalkick Kitigawa tumbles to the ground. She was just inside the penalty area but Japan don’t make any strong claims.
37 min: Down the other end Nakasato turns smartly outside the D and tries to bend the ball inside the left post (as she sees it) with a snap shot. She gets plenty of leather on it but no bend.
35 min: Kerr finds herself in a sliver of space but an early shot doesn’t quite come off, nor does it surprise Ikeda who makes an easy save.
34 min: Corner to Australia. Gielnik takes it and puts it into the ... dum, dum, daaaaah... corridor of uncertainty. But amid a scrum of bodies, Ikeda punches the ball to safety.
31 min: Tanaka steals the ball from Kellond-Knight and Sakamoto picks up the crumbs. She looks up and knocks a diagonal ball towards Nakasato but the little attacker is muscled off the ball. As you might expect the Australians have a noticable size advantage.
30 min: The US commentator is calling this game the appetiser for the USA v Brazil game to follow. Easy there, fella! This ain’t no appetiser!
29 min: The Matildas work the ball down the left, Catley and Logarzo trying —but failing— to one-two their way into the box.
27 min: Kitagawa on the left wing does very well to scoot past Raso, and her left foot cross drops towards Tanaka —but Catley leaps higher to head over the byline. Japan take a short corner but Australia defend it well.
25 min: Kerr almost with a first half hat-trick! Polkinghorne’s beautiful defence-splitting pass down the right flank pulls up ahead of a running Kerr who holds off the chasers to shoot from inside the box. Ikeda does well to parry.
23 min: Japan again allow Australia time at the back. Kennedy won’t mind that, and again she tries a long ball to her wingers. Not this time. But Japan are defending high up the pitch.
21 min: Kerr pushed in the back by Sakamoto. Not much in it but the whistle goes.
18 min: What a crazy opening to this match. Both teams have found a way to get in behind the other. Couple that with a few defensive errors and goals have been the result.
GOAL! Japan 1-2 Australia (Kerr 16)
And Kerr is in again after some awful play by Japan! A Japan freekick near the halfway line is kicked back to Sakamoto who dithers on the ball allowing Kerr to smother her like a buxom aunty. Kerr taps the ball in behind Sakamoto and has no-one in front of her bar the keeper. She races downfield and cooly slides the ball into the far right corner leaving Ikeda no chance.
Sam Kerr with a brace inside the first 20 minutes. On fire. #ToN2017 pic.twitter.com/bwme1D2TC8
— The Women's Game (@TheWomensGame) July 30, 2017
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14 min: Australia try to replicate that goal when Raso again finds space on the right to cross into the middle. This time her ball is just behind Kerr who, in any case, is surrounded by defenders.
12 min: Kennedy, it was, who launched that pin-point long ball to Raso. So she has made amends for her early error and got the Aussies back on track.
GOAL! Japan 1-1 Australia (Kerr 11)
A clinical response from Australia. A great ball from deep finds Raso on the right wing. She burns Sumida on the outside and measures a lovely low cross to Kerr who taps home from close range!
9 min: This will test the Aussie’s mettle, an early set back. That was sloppy from Kennedy in allowing Tanaka to get the better of her.
GOAL! Japan 1-0 Australia (Tanaka 7)
And from the corner, Japan score! A Japan header towards the six yard box deflects off Tanaka and into the corner of the goal. A bit lucky but the defence allowed too much space.
6 min: Kennedy dispossessed by a harrying Tanaka who runs into the Australia box. Arnold makes a big target of herself as the Aussie defenders regroup. Tanaka’s extra touch is one too many and Kennedy clears for a corner.
4 min: Japan let Australia play it out from the back. A long ball finds Kerr, she spins and tries to find Gorry but Japan intercept.
2 min: What an opportunity that was. Van Egmond should have buried that. She had so much time to measure the shot. The keeper did get a touch but I’m not sure it was going in. The corner, by the way, was easily cleared by Japan.
Peeeeeep!
Australia kick off, running right to left.And an early Matilda chance! Japan fail to clear outside their D, Gorry slides a ball to an unmarked Van Egmond right of the penalty spot and her low show is pushed around the keeper Ikeda’s left post!
The teams are out, the anthems have been played, and the handshakes are being conducted in an orderly manner. We’re good to go.
As you’ll have noticed, defender Steph Catley is captain today. A fine choice.
Teams
Australia:
STARTING XI | @TheMatildas fans, this is our team to take on Japan.
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 30, 2017
⚽ #JPNvAUS #GoMatildas
⏰ 7:15am AEST
📺 Fox Sports Football 503. pic.twitter.com/q894yWM7zT
Japan:
Japan XI | Ikeda(GK), Takagi, Nakajima(C), Sakamoto, Yokoyama, Tanaka, Naomoto, Nakasato, Sumida, Kitagawa, Ichese. #JPNvAUS #ToN2017
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 30, 2017
Obligatory shirts in sheds shot:
It's time for our final warm up. #GoMatildas #ToN2017 #JPNvAUS pic.twitter.com/esmNaT766U
— Westfield Matildas (@TheMatildas) July 30, 2017
The Tournament of Nations, as you may have gathered by now, features four teams. Each plays the other once and the winner will be based on total points, with goal difference, goals scored, head-to-head results and FIFA ranking used to separate teams if needed. On Friday, Japan and Brazil played out a 1-all draw. This coming Friday Australia will play Brazil (ranked 8) while the US will play Japan.
Ranked six to Australia’s seven, Japan are quick and technically adept and historically they tend to have the Matildas’ measure. The last time these two teams met, however, in an Olympic qualifier in February 2016, the Matildas prevailed 3-1 in Osaka.
Prior to that, the two teams met in the quarter-finals of the 2015 World Cup in Canada. After the Matildas sensationally knocked out Brazil in the round of 16, Australia and Japan were locked at 0-0 deep into their quarter-final in Edmonton — until Japan’s 87th-minute winner broke their hearts.
That loss was the Matildas’ third World Cup quarter-final defeat in succession. One wonders if last week’s win over the USA, and a win over Japan today, just might help re-wire the Matildas’ mindset and show them that they are capable of taking the next step. As coach Alen Stajcic said after the win: “We’ve shown we can beat the best teams in the world on their home turf and the challenge is now for us to do it for a few games in a row at a major tournament to win the thing.”
Let’s see how they fare this morning.
And if you want to get in touch, my lines are open: paul.connolly.casual@guardian.co.uk or @PFConnolly
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Preamble
Football first thing on a Monday morning? Why not? What else have you got planned? Anyway, nice to have you along for this international between Australia and Japan from San Diego, California. It will be the Matildas’ second of three fixtures in the inaugural Tournament of Nations after the unqualified success of their first — Friday morning’s 1-0 win over the top-ranked side in the world, the US.
If that wasn’t cause enough to have a cheeky schooner of bubbly with morning tea it was, you’ll no doubt have heard, Australia’s first ever win over the US women’s team after 27 failed attempts dating back to 1987, the year Kylie Minogue locomoted into the charts. Makes you think, doesn’t it? Did the gods capriciously punish the Matildas for the nascent singing career of Kylie? Seems a reasonable conclusion. Why, however, has Kylie’s Curse suddenly been lifted after all these years? Has it got something to do with Donald Trump? I can say with all certainty, probably.
Anyway, that win over the US… Yes, Debbie Downer, it was “only a friendly”, but it will surely have given the Matildas an enormous boost of confidence and belief. I don’t want to get carried away here, folks, and tell me if I am, but I wonder if that win might prove to be a major turning point in women’s football in Australia, and the Matildas’ first step on the road to WORLD DOMINATION. It’s got to mean something, right? I mean, the Matildas even got prime ministerial congratulations!
After such a high the Matildas will need to come down to earth today and refocus on another enormous challenge: Japan.
Kick-off: 7.15am
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Paul will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s a reminder of how the Matildas broke a 27-game losing streak against the US in their opening Tournament of Nations game last week:
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