Aya Miyama
If there is a star of a team whose strength is clearly collective, it is Miyama. The playmaker of the Japan side, who left unattended, will dictate the tempo and provide the attacking flair, Miyama is the captain and creative inspiration. Used mainly in this tournament on the left flank, she is no winger, often cutting inside to support strikers Shinobu Ohno and Yuki Ogimi. She also has an eye for goal having scored 37 goals in 151 games for her country.
Twice Asian player of the year, she scored in the final four years ago and also drew attention for choosing to immediately commiserate with the defeated Americans rather than celebrate her teams glory.
Shinobu Ohno
Japan’s main striker has yet to score in the tournament but that won’t be concerning coach Norio Sasaki too much – she remains an essential part of the Nadeshiko’s attacking play, regardless of whether she is on the end of the moves. Ohno isn’t a classic striker; rather, she leads the line in an intelligent manner, carving open spaces for Miyama and other midfielders breaking forward and bringing other players into the game. Ohno is one of the main reasons why Japan manage possession so well – if there isn’t a scoring opportunity, she will keep the ball rotating rather than try ambitious efforts from distance.
Her movement off the ball makes her a handful to mark and while the US central defence has been very solid throughout the tournament, they haven’t had to deal with a player of Ohno’s intelligence and craft.
Rumi Utsugi
The defensive midfield lynchpin of the team, Utsugi was the first Japanese player to establish herself in a European team when she moved to French club Montpellier five years ago – and her experience shows. The 26-year-old adds balance to Sasaki’s midfield by proving height, athleticism, speed, and an ability to break down opposition attacks and swiftly get the passing game going.
Without Utsugi, there would be a danger that Japan could be bustled out of games in the centre of the field. She serves as the first line of defence but, in keeping with the overall approach of the Japan team, she is comfortable on the ball in the final third and is adept at soaking up opposition clearances and making sure the team’s possession game is relentless.
She was outstanding against Australia in the quarter-final, ensuring that the Matildas got little respite, and how she copes against Carli Lloyd’s bursts from midfield could be one of the key elements in Sunday’s game.
Mana Iwabuchi
It may seem odd for a substitute to be considered a key threat but Iwabuchi has played a major role in Japan’s two late wins in the quarter-final against Australia and then the dramatic semi-final against England. Sasaki has used Iwabuchi as a second-half impact substitute and she has excelled in the role.
Japan’s short passing, quick movement games, can wear out teams who try to press and harry them off their rhythm and Iwabuchi’s role is to come on and take advantage of that fatigue. It is a smart approach and one that could well be part of Sasaki’s game-plan against USA. She scored the 87th minute against Australia and then she injected some pace and life into Japan’s attack before their injury time win over England. USA will certainly need to pay attention when she enters the game.
Nahomi Kawasumi
Don’t mention her name to Laura Bassett. It was Kawasumi’s burst down the right flank and dangerous ball across the face of the area that forced the England defender into her ill-fated attempted clearance which crashed off the bar and over the line giving Japan the injury time winner that sent them into the final.
Kawasumi plays off Ohno, often moving out to the right flank where her pace and inventiveness is sure to provide a busy and testing afternoon at BC Place for USA left-back Meghan Klingenberg. But she is also a goalscoring threat in central areas, as USA will know well after her spell last year in the NWSL with Seattle Reign where she scored nine times in 17 starts.
… and the coach, Norio Sasaki
The mastermind behind Japan’s rise to the top of the women’s game, Sasaki took over the Nadeshiko in 2008, having previously worked with age-group national teams, and he has ushered in an era of remarkable success – a World Cup title, an Olympic silver medal and an Asian Cup.
Sasaki’s implementation of a version of the ‘tiki-taka’ tactics used so effectively in the men’s game by Barcelona and Spain, was not simply a case of a coach following a popular trend - it made perfect sense for a Japan team that had no often struggled because it lacked players with the physical attributes to compete with teams such as the United States and Germany. The approach plays to Japan’s strengths – passing ability and close control – while forcing opponents to exert a great deal of energy chasing the ball – or shadows.
It is a pity that so much of Sasaki’s press conferences have been, inevitably, a little lost in translation. He clearly has a sense of humour, judging from the reactions of the impressively large Japanese press corps and his own wry grins. He also appears to enjoy a touch of Mourinho style mind-games. Before the semi-final against England he hailed his players as “superior” and talked of England’s “simple attacking tactics”.
The FIFA world coach of the year in 2011 summed up his philosophy earlier this year: “The more you lose the ball, the harder you need to work to win the ball back. Then you waste so much energy.”
