Taiwan began the AFC women’s finals tournament in Australia with a gutsy but inevitable defeat to tournament favorites, Japan. The Mulan had a clear game plan from the beginning; defend deep, play selflessly and try to limit the opportunities for the tournament favorites to shoot from inside the Taiwan penalty box. 

And for a large chunk of the game, that ploy was successful as a star-studded Japan side huffed and puffed but failed to bother the scoresheet. Luck was also required, plus a top drawer performance from twenty-three year old goalkeeper, Wang Wu-ting. Taiwan would obviously have loved to have snuck out the game with a draw but in the long-term, holding Japan to a couple of goals may well be the difference between getting out the group or not.

Historically, Japan has been a major headache for Taiwan and Mulan boss, Prasobchoke Chokemor, was clearly aware of this when he sent his side out in a very pragmatic, deep-lying 4-5-1 formation.

For most of the opening exchanges, Japan held a monopoly on the ball, enjoying 91% of possession during the first half.  That did not seem to bother Taiwan, who were content to let their opponents tire themselves out amid sweltering conditions under the antipodean sunshine.

There was chances for Taiwan, most notably when Su Sin-yun’s header from an indirect free kick caused panic among the Japanese defense before it was finally booted away from danger.

But Japan had no intention of letting Taiwan have too much fun and were constantly probing for scoring opportunities. Taiwan’s backline had to clear their lines on multiple occasions and even when they missed their cue, Wang was always on hand to save the day.

At times, the flow of the game felt like a one-way conversation between Japan’s star studded forward line and the Taiwanese keeper. Sometimes Wang also had to save her own teammates from themselves, and her best save in the first half happened when Hsu Yi-yun deflected a Japanese cross backwards and towards the goal line before Wang acrobatically clawed it off the line.

Wang continued to defy the Japanese attack deep into the second half but the Nadeshiko finally broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute. Having tried everything, Hana Takahashi’s inch perfect pass was testament to the quality needed to finally get past the determined Taiwan defence. Standing in the deep center of the field like a quarterback, Takahasi’s dinked long ball was guided into the penalty box for Momoko Tanikawa to thump past Wang from close range. 

With almost thirty-minutes left to play, both teams looked shattered after playing in the heat for so long and the game effectively slowed down for the first time. Taiwan were still trying to snatch an equalizer back but were forever weary of over committing themselves and allowing Japan to grab a second goal.

That cat and mouse game would continue until Japan broke through for the game’s second goal. With Taiwan’s backline bunching inside, the ball was instead shifted wide to the completely unmarked Remina Chiba. With all the time in the world to consider her options, the winger’s cross from the left-hand side hung in the air before Iko Seike powered a header into the corner of the net.

There was still time for one final save from Wang as Japan’s offense continued to go for it but Taiwan held out for a respectable defeat.

Whilst the result does not look good on paper, Taiwan will take it. With two very winnable group games on the horizon, goal difference will likely be a factor in getting into the knockout rounds as a second place team. Barring a highly unlikely win, holding Japan to a respectable scoreline was perhaps the best result Taiwan could have got.

Taiwan will go again in a few days against Vietnam, who beat India, 2-1 in the tournament’s other game yesterday.

Photo Credit: Associated Press