We vowed revenge. But once again, it was a bitter pill to swallow. Two years ago, they tried to avenge their loss in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but they hung their heads in shame after losing in the quarterfinals of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia-New Zealand 2023. Once again, Japan’s women’s soccer team found itself at the mercy of the ‘Yellow Vikings’.안전놀이터
Japan faced Sweden in the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup 2023 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand on Monday (Nov. 11). The Japanese were looking to avenge a 1-3 loss in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics two years ago. However, they lost 1-2 and failed to advance to the semifinals.
They started with a 3-4-3 formation. But Sweden’s strength and height gave them an early lead in the first half. They conceded a goal in the 32nd minute to Amanda Ilestedt. They went into halftime trailing 0-1, and six minutes into the second half, they conceded a penalty kick to Filippa Angeldahl to make it 0-2.
They didn’t give up, though. They hit the ground running in the 28th minute when they missed a penalty kick, but Hiyashi Honoka scored the winning goal in the 42nd minute to keep hope alive. Time ran out. They ran out of gas and couldn’t find the equalizer and were eliminated.
Their dream of reaching the top of the World Cup for the first time in 12 years after winning the tournament in 2011 came to a halt. They were unbeaten from the group stage to the round of 16, but were knocked out by Sweden in the quarterfinals. Their compact, organized style of soccer paid off, but they fell two percentage points short.
Sweden followed up their Tokyo Olympics success with a World Cup victory over Japan. After defeating top-ranked USA in penalty kicks in the round of 16, the Swedes took another step closer to the title by defeating Japan. They will be looking to bounce back from their runner-up finish to Canada at the Tokyo Olympics two years ago. They will face Spain, the “invincibles” who beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the quarterfinals, for a place in the final on Friday.