Japan eliminated from the Women's World Cup by Sweden

The match is divided into two contrasting phases. In the first hour of the game, Sweden dominated, finishing 10 times and scoring twice. Japan did not finish a single shot in the first 60 minutes, but fought bravely for the last more than half an hour. The Asian representative finished 11 times but only removed one goal due to bad luck.

After 75 minutes, Japan missed the penalty kick, the free kick hit the crossbar and vertical post. Efforts to rise up at the end of the game helped them say goodbye to the World Cup. Almost the entire Japanese team could not hold back their tears after the emotional match. The 2011 champion was eliminated, making this year's World Cup certainly see a new name crowned for the first time.

Sweden also showed that they deserved to reach the semi-finals. After eliminating the 2019 World Cup champion America, the Nordic representative started a storm in the quarterfinals, thanks to the advantage of physical strength. They opened the scoring with Amanda Ilestedt's footwork, after a messy situation inside the box after 31 minutes. Early in the second half, Filippa Angeldal doubled the lead from the penalty spot, after VAR determined Nagano Fuka was handballing the ball. in the forbidden zone.

The game turned around when the mental strength of the Japanese spoke up. After forcing goalkeeper Zecira Musovic to save, the Asian representative had a chance to score the first goal of the game in the 76th minute. Riko Ueki was fouled in the penalty area, but it was she who took the penalty and hit the crossbar.

Minutes later, the wooden frame continued to reject Japan in a more unbelievable way. Aoba Fujino took a free kick to hit the crossbar, hit goalkeeper Musovic on the back, and then hit the post, rolling slowly on the goal line.

Japan didn't even have time to regret this ball. Their suffocating pressure was converted into Honoka Hayashi's goal a minute later, after the Swedish defender cleared the ball.

Hayashi's goal made 10 minutes of injury time tense. Japan used all its strength to attack, but Sweden defended with tenacity to protect the result. The Nordic representative won tickets to the semi-finals against Spain, who beat the Netherlands in the first quarter-final.