Miyazawa scores brace, sets up another to star in 4-0 win, face Norway next
\n WELLINGTON
\nHinata Miyazawa scored twice and set up another as Japan stunned Spain 4-0 at the Women\u2019s World Cup on Monday to set up a clash with Norway in the knockout stage.
\nThe Japanese delivered a lesson in clinical counter-attacking and led 3-0 at half-time to issue a World Cup warning against one of the title favourites.
\nThe 2011 champions Japan topped the group to play another former winner in Norway while Spain will face Switzerland in the last 16.
\nMiyazawa\u2019s brace took her to four goals for the tournament while Riko Ueki and Mina Tanaka bagged the others for a hugely impressive Japan.
\nBoasting a host of European club stars, Spain dominated possession in front of a crowd of 20,957 in Wellington.
\nBut they didn\u2019t create a single clear chance as Japan soaked up pressure and broke with pace, with lethal effect.
\nIt was a tactical masterclass from Japan coach Futoshi Ikeda, whose team denied space and time to Barcelona stars Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati.
\n\u201cThe Spanish team, with that kind of offence, we decided to respond with a compact defence,\u201d Ikeda said.
\n\u201cOnce we recovered the ball, we tried to attack to the maximum at speed.\u201d
\nJapan\u2019s three first-half attempts resulted in three blistering goals as their speedy front line took advantage of a disorganised Spanish defence missing injured captain Ivana Andres.
\nIt was Japan\u2019s first win in five attempts over Spain.
\nTheir 11 goals is the most by any team at the tournament while they\u2019re one of four sides yet to concede a goal.
\nMiyazawa is also the tournament\u2019s leading scorer, although she was denied a chance to add to her four goals when replaced at halftime.
\nA beaming Miyazawa said leading the race for the golden boot was a surprise and a \u201cgreat pleasure\u201d.
\n\u201cI never imagined it. All of the goals are because of the other players giving me the right passes. So it\u2019s everybody\u2019s goal, not just me,\u201d she said.
\nWith both teams having already qualified after coasting past pool opponents Zambia and Costa Rica, sixth-ranked Spain were considered the favourites to top the group.
\nOnly needing a draw to do so, the Europeans controlled the ball for long periods but they had few answers when their opponents broke with speed.
\nSpain coach Jorge Vilda conceded he\u2019d been out-thought tactically.
\n\u201cAs the head coach I\u2019m responsible for this defeat,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cYes I was surprised, they were exerting a lot of pressure.
\n\u201cWe had to break this low block that they had but we were not able to get past their lines to attack… and little by little they started scoring goals.
\n\u201cWe have not seen the best Spanish team yet and I\u2019m convinced that against Switzerland the team will react positively.\u201d The opener came in the 12th minute when Miyazawa outpaced the defence to reach Jun Endo\u2019s curling pass from halfway before slotting low past Misa Rodriguez.
\nMiyazawa turned provider in the 29th minute, driving forward before finding Ueki, whose shot took a giant deflection and snuck inside the top corner.
\nAnother lightning quick counter gave Miyazawa space and the striker blasted powerfully past Rodriguez five minutes before the interval.
\nSubstitute Tanaka\u2019s sensational 82nd minute goal came after a sizzling solo run from the touchline that turned the defence inside out.
\nIkeda has quality at his disposal, having made five changes to his side who beat Costa Rica, including the selection of forwards Miyazawa and Ueki over in-form Tanaka and Aoba Fujino.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Miyazawa scores brace, sets up another to star in 4-0 win, face Norway next WELLINGTON Hinata Miyazawa scored twice and set up another as Japan stunned Spain 4-0 at the Women\u2019s World Cup on Monday to set up a clash with Norway in the knockout stage. The Japanese delivered a lesson in clinical counter-attacking and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346621,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-346607","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n