“The strongest team I have ever seen.” That’s how Caroline Graham Hansen, a two-time Champions League winner with Barcelona, described Japan after the Nadeshiko had beaten her and her Norway team-mates in the last 16 of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Coming from a world-class footballer who has played at the highest level for many, many years, it’s quite the compliment.
Indeed, as we move into the quarter-finals of the tournament, it’s Japan that are the team to beat. Despite winning the title in 2011 and reaching the final four years later, they didn’t fly to New Zealand with high expectations from the outside, but their performances since arriving have certainly raised those.
Starting with a 5-0 win over a Zambia side that had beaten Germany only a week earlier, Japan executed the same free-flowing and eye-catching style against Costa Rica a few days later, earning a 2-0 win. But it was their victory over Spain, by four goals to nil, that really asserted them as a contender for the title. Adapting their game plan to absorb La Roja’s pressure and catch them on the counter, they were well-drilled, focused and clinical.
“They are very disciplined and very organised on offense and defence,” Graham Hansen noted. “They don't need many chances because of their quality in front of goal. Even in today's game, they stayed back and created space. The girls have many strengths and have shown they can do it against different teams.”
After crashing out rather underwhelmingly in the last 16 four years ago, Japan look like they’re back on track to be a genuine force in the women’s game. With only eight nations remaining at this World Cup, is there anyone that looks quite as good as the Nadeshiko?
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