Spain had a score to settle with Japan and they got even in their Olympic debut. The Japanese had beaten them 4-0 exactly a year ago in the closing stages of the group stage of the World Cup. From that shake-up the team came out shot towards the Moon and this Thursday, in the sub-venue of Nantes, they got even with that defeat. A small adjustment with the past in search of gold at the Games.
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Cast: Cata Coll, Laia Aleixandri, Olga Carmona (Oihane Hernandez, min. 59), Irene Paredes, Ona Batlle, Patri Guijarro (Teresa Abelleira, min. 81), Aitana Bonmatí, Alexia Putellas (Jenni Hermoso, min. 67), Salma Paralluelo, Athenea del Castillo (Lucia Garcia, min. 81) and Mariona Caldentey
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Ayaka Yamashita, Toko Koga (Miyabi Moriya, min. 89), Saki Kumagai, Moeka Minami, Hinata Miyazawa, Risa Shimizu (Hana Takahashi, min. 68), Aoba Fujino, Kiko Seike (Maika Hamano, min. 45), Fuka Nagano , Yui Hasegawa and Mina Tanaka (Remina Chiba, min. 79)
Goals
0-1 min. 12: Aoba Fujino. 1-1 min. 21: Aitana Bonmatí. 2-1 min. 73: Mariona Caldentey
Referee Bouchra Karboubi
Yellow cards
Patri Guijarro (min. 10), Irene Paredes (min. 42)
She did it with a corkscrew, chewing through the rigorous Asian defence without stopping. When the rush began to appear, Mariona Caldentey’s fine foot found the riddle. Japan went ahead and wrapped up well, but the duel was too long for them to resist the endless touch of Montse Tomé’s girls. Between Aitana Bonmatí, scorer and assistant, and her now ex-Barça teammate, they resolved a tiring afternoon in the west of France.
The victory puts the team in an optimal position to advance to the quarterfinals, since the top two teams from each group will qualify, plus two of the three best third-placed teams. The next match will be this Sunday against Nigeria (19:00) and the first match will close next Wednesday against Brazil (17:00).
The charming La Beaujoire stadium in Nantes, with a plane flying over it every five minutes, hosted a historic duel, the first at the Olympics for the women’s football team. A milestone for which Montse Tomé returned to the centre of the field with more names: Patri Guijarro, who has been brought back to the cause, the current queen Aitana and her predecessor Alexia Putellas. The trio that was recited by rote until two summers ago the crisis of the 15 opened a very eventful period in the dressing room. Tere Abelleira was the one sacrificed in the eleven.
No one was surprised by the game plan. Japan took the plunge with the intention of coming out like bullets on the counterattack. They did not do badly a year ago in the Antipodes. Even more so when Aoba Fujino scored a sensational free kick over the wall after fifteen minutes. The forwards had already had a very clear chance from the start, which Cata Coll saved. This time, a header clearance by the goalkeeper could have been improved, which led to the 0-1 foul.
The only solution that Spain found early on was to equalise. Aitana, in alliance with Athenea del Castillo, quickly equalised thanks to a good through ball from the Real Madrid player. The Blaugrana put the subtle and elegant finish in front of goal.
No trace of Salma
The response did not alter the script either. Spain played a lot of ball and the Japanese were in perfect order, holding on without any major scares until the break. Tomé’s team lacked depth and a certain finesse in some of their passes into the area. Except for an attempt by Laia Aleixandri, who was as clever as few others to finish a corner from below, goalkeeper Yamashita was able to calmly watch the Spanish manoeuvres. Not much was known about Salma Paralluelo, who had no grass to run on and no balls to finish off due to the restricted space.
Spain’s monologue with the ball stuck to their feet only grew as the minute ticked by and Japan found it increasingly difficult to stretch. Creating clear chances was another matter for the team. Jennifer Hermoso, instead of a powerless Alexia, came to the rescue, but the key to the safe was found by an accomplished magician like Mariona. She received the ball on the side of the area, joined forces with Bonmatí and made room to put it in the corner. A comeback by Spain to start well and resolve this chapter of the recent past. Since that 4-0, the team has only had two inconsequential defeats in 19 matches. A happy path on the pitch with its sights set on the gold in Paris.
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