Dave Sihra reports

IRELAND WOMEN HAD to work doubly hard in Santiago, Chile, at the 2026 Hockey World Cup qualifier event to secure a hard-fought three points against Japan which now secures them a semi-final spot and leaves them one win away from the main event.

At the Estadio Nacional, the Green Machine began with the same sharp passing they had shown yesterday in their 5-0 win against Malaysia.

However, an early backhand shot on the run from Mai Toriyama saved by Elizabeth Murphy showed how quickly Japan could move from defence to attack.

The Super Cherry Blossoms also proved resolute in defence, but Ireland struggled to bring their fluent passing around the back further up field to offer a clinical attacking threat.

Niamh Carey however managed to get Ireland’s first goal early in the second quarter during a penalty corner when she dived to excellently deflect a Roisin Upton drag flick.

Before halftime, Caoimhe Perdue then scored Ireland’s next when she beat the Japanese goalkeeper and defence with a sharp drag flick of her own from the left castle.

Japan’s play became more threatening in the second half as they looked to increase their ball speed, and Elizabeth Murphy twice had to be called into action to intercept threatening crosses towards her goal.

The Super Cherry Blossoms then eventually got one back when Toriyama deflected a drag flick from captain Miyu Suzuki in the final quarter.

Ireland, however, ranked 13th in the world, managed to hold out against the side ranked just above them to complete a second win in a row at this qualifier event and secure a spot in the semi-final.

Should the Green Machine win that tie, they will secure their spot in Belgium and the Netherlands for the 2026 Hockey World Cup this coming August.

Next up, however, the side will face Canada in their final Pool B match on Thursday, 5 March, at 6pm Irish time, with a win giving them top spot in the group.

Player of the Match: Niamh Carey

IRELAND: E Murphy; S McAuley, M Carey, N Carey, S Hawkshaw (capt), K Mullan, H McLoughlin, S Torrans, C Perdue, C Hamill, L Mulcahy. Rolling subs: R Upton, E Curran, C Beggs, H Micklem, J McMaster, K Larmour, M Jennings.

JAPAN: Y Kudo; M Suzuki (capt), H Saito, N Tateiwa, M Norikawa, M Toriyama, A Nakagomi, H Murayama, S Tanaka, M Matsunami, M Mikami. Rolling subs: A Tanaka, I Matsu, E Nishikori, S Kobayakawa, M Hasegawa, A Hiramitsu, H Kawaguchi