Japan thrash Việt Nam 8-0 in AFC U19 event

Japan thrash Việt Nam 8-0 in AFC U19 event

Japan’s midfielder Fuka Nagano (middle) controls the ball during a match against Việt Nam at the AFC U 一 九 Women’s Championship in Nanjing yesterday. — Photo the-afc.com

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam lost  八-0 to Japan in their first match of Group B at the Asian Football Confederation U 一 九 Women’s Championship yesterday in Nanjing, China.

Four-time winners Japan showed they are likely to be contenders again, dominating Việt Nam at the Jiangning Sports Centre Stadium. 

Saori Takarada scored a second-half hat-trick while her tea妹妹ates Riko Ueki and Mizuka Sato netted a brace each after Jun Endo opened the scoring in the third minute.

“I think the performance is in line with our expectations. I am happy with the performance. The whole squad are on the same level, so I chose the players with the best condition tonight. Both us and Australia now have three points, so the winner of the next match will have six points, which will be a very important match,” Japan coach Futoshi Ikeda was quoted as saying on the-afc.com

His Vietnamese counterpart Vũ Bá Đông said he was pleased with the performance of his players, because they battled a very strong Japan side to the end.

The Vietnamese players, mainly aged  一 七, learned a lot from Japanese side, according to Đông.

With the big win, Japan ended the day atop Group B while Việt Nam were rooted to the bottom.

In another group A fixture, Australia beat South Korea  二-0.

In the next round of games, Japan will play Australia on Thursday evening, while Việt Nam face another difficult task against South Korea. — VNS