Sydney –
Japan powered its way through five matches to get to the Women’s Asian Cup final but, according to coach Nils Nielsen, they were forced to show their adaptability and character to get past Australia and seal the title on Saturday.
Japan, which had scored 28 goals and conceded one on their way to the title-decider, took an early lead through Maika Hamano’s fine strike but were on the back foot for large parts of the second half as Australia looked for an equalizer.
Ultimately, Japan held on to disappoint the vast majority of the record crowd of 74,357 at Stadium Australia and confirmed its status as the Asian powerhouse with a third title in the last four editions of the tournament.