Live updates from the Matildas’ quarter-final at Commonwealth Stadium
Email: paul.connolly.casual@theguardian.com
7.50am AEST
89 min: A killer blow it seems with full-time looming. Australia push forward and they manage a cross into the box but it’s hopeful and Fukumoto leaps high to catch it and is bundled over due to the crush of bodies around her.
7.48am AEST
88 min: Kyah Simon is replaced which allows me a moment to run you through that goal. It came from a corner from the left that dropped into the Aussie box and caused havoc. In a scrap of bodies Australia couldn’t clear and Iwashimizu had her shot blocked it fell to an unmarked Iwabuchi for a tap in.
7.45am AEST
That miss hardly matters now as Japan score a well-deserved goal. Australia have a mountain to climb now. Or at least a very large hill, which tend to be called mountains in Australia.
7.43am AEST
84 min: Japan are full of energy it seems and they fashion another great chance. A cross comes in from the right and Ogimi meets it on the right edge of the six-yard box. As it falls over her right shoulder she attempts a tough volley but can’t direct it on goal.
7.41am AEST
82 min: Kerr is doubled over, looking as exhausted as a pair of socks you’ve worn on a 98km hike across a desert track.
7.39am AEST
80 min: Kellond-Knight does ever so well to muscle Litsugi off the ball as she runs into the box following a peach of a short ball from Iwabuchi, who’s been great since coming on. And still it’s 0-0.
7.37am AEST
78 min: There is some space in behind the Aussie defence as they look to push forward. And Heyman gets into the action on the left, squeaking a pass inside which is in turn rolled back to Catley who might have had a crack from the left edge of the box but instead chipped into to the far post. But she had too much potato on it and it drops over the byline. A wasted opportunity that.
7.34am AEST
77 min: Another Japan corner after Australia’s Crummer blocks a shot from Kawasumi after she ran onto a squared ball from Ogimi. It comes to nothing, so breath easy Aussie fans.
7.32am AEST
75 min: Japan head a Foord long ball into touch and that allows for the Aussie sub: Heyman on, Gorry off.
7.31am AEST
73 min: As Japan win a corner after a great turn from the fresh Iwabuchi on the byline, Stajcic readies Michelle Heyman on the sideline. Australia do need fresh legs out there.
7.30am AEST
70 min: Oh no! Ohno is off, subbed for Iwabuchi, so my prediction that she’d be the one to break the deadlock falls flat. Don’t listen to a thing I say. Keep reading, mind...
7.28am AEST
67 min: As Stajcic looks concerned on the bench, a word from Sam in San Antonio: “Howdy from ridiculously humid San Antonio... Hoping Aussies do well, but given Japan’s apparent stubbornness, are we looking at penalties here? Or a moment of epic freakout from over-hot feet on a plastic field, and a red card, then a penalty kick? The heat here today is enough to drive me to kick someone, which is why I’m reading MBM, loafing on a couch, cat on chest. But not an overly warm cat, mind.”
I can’t see it going to penalties personally: Japan’s efforts will either be rewarded or, less likely, a catastrophic error or piece of skill will lead to an opportunistic Aussie goal and then the Matildas will hold on, boosted by adrenaline. Fence-sitting? Yes.
7.25am AEST
66 min: Further to my comment below:
Lots saying #JPN's Shinobu Ohno will score the first goal! Let's wait & see! #FIFAWWC #AUSJPN http://t.co/BqoW6MXu9W pic.twitter.com/niGiUaM36N
7.24am AEST
64 min: Australia just can’t build pressure and now, though Gorry wins the ball in midfield, her searching ball for Kerr can’t be controlled and the attempt at a quick counter ends up in a Japan throw.
7.23am AEST
63 min: Ariyoshi again finds space deep in Australia’s half and were it not for the timely interception of Kennedy her cross would have sat up nicely for Ogimi.
7.21am AEST
60 min: I have to keep reminding myself that it’s still 0-0. It feels like Australia are chasing this game such is the dominance of Japan.
7.20am AEST
58 min: Japan go close again and it came from a lovely exchange of touches. First Kawasumi, on the right edge of Australia’s 18-yard box, turned towards her own goal and backheeled the ball to Ariyosji who was charging forward. She then crossed to Miyama at the near post and her attempt at a cheeky David Villa-like shot (a kind of inside flick off the trailing leg) just slid by the right upright.
7.16am AEST
55 min: Another opportunistic strike, this time from the other side of the field. I missed which Matilda it was, but her shot was blazed over the bar with some measure of comfort for the Japanese keeper. Japan then counter down the right wing and a lovely measured cross drops on the head of Ohno who tries to glance it past Williams’ right glove but she doesn’t get enough on it and it falls wide of the right post.
7.13am AEST
53 min: But there’s always opportunism: Sakaguchi gets her feet in knots which sees the ball run to Van Egmond in midfield. She slides it left to Kerr who is in space. She sets her sights on the bottom right corner but her shot is more of a pass and though Fukumoto is forced to dive to her left there just wasn’t enough power on it.
7.11am AEST
51 min: I’m not sure how the Matildas can get into this game, given to do so will take an injection of energy that they seem to be lacking.
7.10am AEST
49 min: Fukumoto ventures out of the box to leather the ball upfield and after a few touches the ball runs into the Matildas’ box. Williams seems stuck in quicksand as a Japanese player hares towards the ball but she finally un-bogs her feet and dives over the ball.
7.07am AEST
47 min: Alys writes back to make another pointer of progress: while she watches football her husband does the washing up. “Even more heartening...” she says. Indeed, it’s always heartening to see someone else do any kind of domestic chore.
7.05am AEST
46 min: And immediately Williams is called into action, cleaning up at the back as Japan press.
7.04am AEST
We’re underway in the second half with Australia kicking off and looking to get more of a foothold in this game which will be a difficult assignment as they, more than Japan, seem to be feeling the pinch.
6.52am AEST
Have a chew on this:
HT: #AUS 0-0 #JPN. #JPN with more possession, but #AUS not allowing quality chances. #AUSJPN http://t.co/BqoW6MXu9W pic.twitter.com/BsarRkSaEJ
6.49am AEST
Japan enjoy by far the better of play but it’s all square at the break and I’ll be popping the kettle on now. Back in a sec.
6.48am AEST
45 min: As halftime approaches, Alys in Islington writes it to say she’s watching the game “with my husband’s godson, Theo, who is 11. We’re watching the China vs USA on the iplayer at the same time. When I was his age I’d have struggled to get my male mates to watch a game of women’s football. It’s heartening, this.”
It is, Alys. The challenge is for this interest to be maintained outside of these big tournaments.
6.46am AEST
44 min: When the ball falls to her in midfield, some 35m out, Simon has a crack from distance. It hits the target but standing in front of it is the Japan keeper Fukumoto who deals with it easily.
6.45am AEST
42 min: Now De Vanna, a striker you’ll recall, finds herself on the Australia byline to make a telling slide tackle. Full field commitment from the Aussie captain there.
6.43am AEST
41 min: Foord, I think it was, hoofs the ball to no-one such is her desperation to clear it from danger. Australia tend to play a modern possession-based game; that was a window into the past.
6.42am AEST
39 min: Williams comes off her line to claim a cross from Sameshima that followed a number of passes so incisive they could cut a finger. Australia will be happy to head into halftime all square.
6.39am AEST
37 min: Catley is down receiving attention to a right ankle by the looks of it, but she’s up now so all’s well. Unlike the men’s game you tend to believe someone is injured or hurt in the women’s game. The lack of histrionics is one of its standout features when comparisons are drawn.
6.37am AEST
35 min: It’s 62% possession to Japan so far which can be attributed to their high work rate in defence as well as their ability to keep possession. Whenever the Matildas get on the ball they are quickly smothered.
6.34am AEST
32 min: Quickly down the other end Miyama attempts a long-range shot on goal and she hits it cleanly, forcing Williams to tip it over the bar. This game is warming up now, like the pitch I imagine.
6.33am AEST
31 min: Now it’s De Vanna’s turn to beat a defender with a sweet pirouette and it allows her to motor upfield towards Japan’s penalty area. As defenders approach she passes square to Gorry but her shot is blocked.
6.31am AEST
28 min: Ogimi turns as if on a lazy Susan on the left wing and puts in a dangerous cross which Australia clear, but moments later Japan win a corner from the opposite flank. Miyama’s corner drops at the six yard box but Australia scramble the ball to safety.
6.28am AEST
27 min: ...but drags it wide of the left post.
6.28am AEST
26 min: Sam Kerr is body checked by Iwashimizu outside the box and the Japan defender earns a yellow for the challenge. It gives the Matildas a free kick in a good position for a right footer. Kennedy stands over it...
6.26am AEST
24 min: Japan are not exactly cutting Australia up but they are looking increasingly threatening and they’ve had by far the better of play.
6.25am AEST
22 min: Japan come close again! This time Kawasumi is in acres of space on the right and it gives her time to measure a pass to Ohno (I don’t know what it is about Ohno’s name but it gives me the feeling that she might be the deliverer of bad news) who’s first time shot from the right edge of the six-yard box just fails to find the top right corner of the goal with Williams a spectator.
6.22am AEST
20 min: One thing about the play being in Australia’s half is that it allows for the Matildas’ quick counter, and we get a taste of it with Katrina Gorry bursting forward. But her attempt to thread the ball in behind the Japan defence to Kerr flying down the left flank is intercepted.
6.20am AEST
18 min: Japan are pushing forward now, with the play in the Matildas’ half. And a clever reverse pass from Ohno almost creates a shot for Miyama but Kennedy beats her to it.
6.18am AEST
16 min: Alleway intercepts a firmly hit through-ball from Sameshima but then overhits her ball to Catley’s wing. We’re not quite on song just yet.
6.16am AEST
13 min: As Japan work it out from their own line Simon puts pressure on their fullbacks, harrying between them like a kelpie. That full-court pressure has been a feature of the Matildas this tournament.
6.13am AEST
12 min: That last entry, of course, sparked a good piece of play from the Matildas. Winning the ball in midfield Emily Van Egmond slid a lovely through-ball to Simon who was shaping her right boot for a shot on goal when Japan’s Iwashimizu slid in with a last-ditch tackle.
6.11am AEST
10 min: Australia are responding to Japan’s movement and play at the moment more so than getting on the front foot.
6.10am AEST
8 min: Chance, Japan! A long ball from the centre circle sails over the heads of the Matildas’ midfield and it drops kindly for Ohno who swings her hips and attempts a first-time lob with Williams off her line. But she put too much on it and Williams looks on with relief as it sails over the bar.
6.08am AEST
7 min: Japan start to settle and they string together some sharp passes but a high backline from the Matildas catches them offside.
6.06am AEST
5 min: De Vanna goes for a gallop down the right wing but the ball gets away from her, almost as if it were round, and it runs over the touchline.
6.05am AEST
3 min: It’s been a scrappy start as both teams size each other up. Kev O’Rourke, in Sydney, wins the award for first contributor and he’s already answering questions and mentioning bed-wear: “Paul, in your part of the World (if you were in a press box in Edmonton in your best M&S nightwear for the Aged – making you the Journo to avoid) the warm wind that whistles through the Rocky Mountains Whistler to Edmonton is the Chinook.”
6.03am AEST
1 min: An early offside call against Ogimi from a headed-on long ball. She’s one of Japan’s six different goal scorers in the tournament to date, all with one each. By contrast the Matildas have relied on Kyah Simon’s three goals and De Vanna’s two.
6.01am AEST
And we’re off and racing, Japan kicking us off. If you’re picturing this in your mind’s eye they’ll be running right to left, the Matildas left to right.
6.00am AEST
Kick-off is imminent, so I hope you have a cup of tea in your hands. Or perhaps the young ’uns amongst you are just getting in, half cut, hopeful and ready for one last beverage. Either way, send your good vibes to Edmonton.
5.57am AEST
The national anthems are being played, and we are again reminded how sombre and soulful the Japanese anthem is. Juxtaposed against it Australia’s sounds like a Wiggles song.
5.56am AEST
Enough about breezes and pyjamas for the moment, however. The teams are making their way onto the pitch! The Aussies look wonderful in their green and gold and they have their game faces on. Japan are in all blue, a rather fetching navy. They also seem to have their game faces on. They must have been handed out in the dressing rooms.
Aussie captain Lisa De Vanna is now reading a FIFA Fair Play promise of some sort 9I promise not to boot anyone up the date) and while it seems English is her second language I imagine she’s just nervous. Perhaps more nervous about reading out those few sentences in front of a crowd than playing in front of that same crowd.
5.51am AEST
What about the weather, you ask? Dark and cold from where I’m sitting in my dressing gown* but a lovely 26 degrees C in Edmonton. That said, playing as they are on artificial grass which has a rubber base, the pitch temperature will be about 10 degrees warmer. I’ve played on such pitches and you can feel the heat through your boots and whistling up the legs of your shorts like a Fremantle Doctor. Sorry, THE Fremantle Doctor. That’s a cooling breeze, but it’s far too early in the morning for me to remember the name of a warm breeze.
If you can, send me a line: paul.connolly@theguardian.com
5.45am AEST
Teams:
#JPN XI: Kaihori (GK), Iwashimizu, Kumagai, Sameshima, Sakaguchi, Miyama (C), Kawasumi, Ohno, Utsugi, Ogimi, Ariyoshi pic.twitter.com/Clao7JzkZl
Starting XI for @TheMatildas Can they topple the world champions #JPN? #AUSJPN #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/GnCpysJdfM
5.41am AEST
The Matildas have received a lot of attention in the media over the past few weeks (including the attention drawn to their relatively paltry remuneration) and though I feel it has sometimes skirted the fringes of patronisation you can understand the overhaul enthusiasm as the Matildas have earned their plaudits. Not only did they survive the obligatory Group of Death after beating Nigeria and drawing with Sweden (having first lost to the USA after giving them a fright) they then, for the first time in Australian football history, won a knock-out game in a World Cup; their round of 16 encounter against Brazil, a nation that issues every newborn with a football, a hat made out of fruit, and a licence to use them. Best of all they did all this by playing brave and enterprising football.
As such, Caitlin Murray in the Guardian earlier this week ranked the Matildas second only to Germany in her ‘power list’ and on that basis you’d infer they were favourites to beat Japan today. I’d caution against any expectations along those lines. Japan are the reigning World Cup holders and have won all four of their games so far in the tournament. It’s true their opponents (Switzerland, Cameroon, Ecuador and the Netherlands) have not been as strong as those the Matildas have faced but they are a sharp team with metronomic passing and they’ll be every bit as confident as the Aussies. The two nations have faced each other 22 times over the years and Japan hold the upper hand, winning nine, with eight draws and five wins to the Matildas. The last time they played was in the 2014 Asian Cup final when Japan edged them 1-0.
5.31am AEST
It’s difficult to get your head around but many people wake up at this ungodly hour to exercise. Can you imagine, as you sit there in your dressing gown, with your head looking like a can that’s been kicked down a long street (or is that just me?), pounding the footpaths right now, or slipping into the nearby outdoor 50m pool, or even hitting a tractor tire with a sledgehammer while a man with anger management issues yells at you like Sgt Hartman in Full Metal Jacket?
5.30am AEST
And you’re the type who likes facts, here are a few to ponder ahead of kick-off.
World rankings – Australia: No10, Japan: No4
5.30am AEST
Paul will be here shortly to act as your eyes and ears for the duration of the crunch match in Edmonton. While we’re waiting, have a read of Caitlin Murray’s thoughts on the two teams in her latest Women’s World Cup power rankings.
Could this small footballing nation become the Cinderella story of the Women’s World Cup? With the way the Matildas are playing, it’s certainly possible. The Aussies fought their way out of the Group of Death and followed it up by sending Brazil and the legendary Marta packing. New coach Alen Stajcic had just eight months to work with his squad after a player-led revolt of their previous coach earlier last year, but the team’s confidence in their new manager shows. Though the speedy Lisa De Vanna remains the notable focal point for her side, young players like Samantha Kerr and Kyah Simon are stepping up and playing important roles. The robust collective effort that helped the Matildas secure Australia’s first knockout win in a men’s or women’s World Cup may hold some more surprises.
Related: Women's World Cup 2015 - interactive wallchart
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