An exhausted Việt Nam team after their defeat. VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Linh

Anh Đức

HANGZHOU Việt Nam's national women's football team have lost 0-7 to Japan in their final game of the 2022 Asian Games Group D.

The heavy defeat means the Golden Star Women Warriors are eliminated in the 2022 Asian Games.

While Việt Nam brought a majority of their World Cup squad, with only the notable exception of striker Huỳnh Như, Japan's Asian Games squad consisted mostly of young players who are playing in the domestic leagues.

Việt Nam needed either a draw or a narrow loss to qualify for the knockouts, and opted to play a defensive game.

The girls in red, however, could only hold on for 19 minutes before the 2011 World Cup winners show their might.

A great play from the back put captain Yuzuho Shiokoshi through on goal, where she calmly placed the ball into Trần Thị Kim Thanh's net.

Shiokoshi doubled Japan's lead just five minutes later from a quick counter. Coach Mai Đức Chung brought on Lương Thị Thu Thương and Ngân Thị Vạn Sự to patch up holes in defence, and the changes seemed to have worked as Việt Nam stopped conceding in the first half.

Japan kept on pushing forward in the second half, and got their third in the 51st minute, courtesy of Remina Chiba's powerful header. The lead increased to four in the 55th minute, after Trần Thị Hải Linh was caught handballing inside the box, and on the spot, Reina Wakisaka perfectly delivered the penalty.

The Nadeshiko put three more goals in Kim Thanh's net, courtesy of a brace from substitute Haruka Osawa, and another goal from Remina Chiba to cap off their emphatic victory.

With this result, Việt Nam finished group D in second place. As the Philippines won their match against Myanmar, they pushed Việt Nam out of the top three group runners-up on goal difference. VNS