Japan's women's soccer team, Nadeshiko Japan, played against the United States in the first match of an international tournament they are participating in to strengthen their team in preparation for the Paris Olympics, and suffered a come-from-behind 2-1 loss.
Japan, which is ranked 7th in the world and has decided to participate in the Paris Olympics, is participating in the "She Believes Cup", an international tournament held in the United States as part of strengthening its team, and in the first match held on the 6th, they will be competing in the Olympics. They faced the world's fourth-ranked United States, which has won the championship four times, the most ever.
Japan took the lead early in the match when Seike Takako reacted to 18-year-old Moeko Tanigawa's pass into the space behind the defenders, dribbled the ball and scored a goal into the left corner.
Seike immediately showed her good form, scoring goals in seven consecutive games in the women's domestic league ``WE League'' and ranking at the top of the scoring rankings.
However, after this, the physically strong USA gradually took the initiative, and in the 21st minute, they were caught off guard by an irregular pass, stole the ball, and scored a strong mid-range shot to tie the score.
The team continued to be attacked in the second half, and after the 30th minute, substitute Hikazu Sugita was fouled in the penalty area and awarded a penalty kick, which was converted and allowed the team to take the lead.
In the final stages of the game, Japan made an offensive effort by bringing on Hinata Miyazawa, the top scorer from last year's World Cup who returned from a right ankle injury for the first time in about four months, but they were unable to score and the game ended in a 1-1 draw. We suffered a come-from-behind loss in 2.