2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Japan Vs Norway Preview
Written by Oluwaseun Oyediji
2011 world champions, Japan will meet 1995 champions, Norway in one of the eight Round of 16 games of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Saturday.
Japan
Japan topped their group in a Women’s World Cup (WWC) for the second time in their history by registering a 4-0 win over Spain despite enjoying just 23% possession, the lowest figure recorded by a winning side in WWC history.
That ruthlessly efficient performance helped the 2011 champions to a fourth consecutive victory without conceding, raising hopes that a repeat of their success 12 years ago could be on the cards.
Their 2011 run to the final included wins over European opponents in the first knockout round (1-0 vs Germany) and Scandinavian opponents (3-1 vs Sweden) in the semi-finals.
That should boost confidence ahead of playing Norway, against whom they’ve lost only one of the last seven head-to-heads (H2Hs) (six wins), although they did lose their only previous World Cup meeting 4-0 in 1999.
That was back when Norway were reigning champions, having won the 1995 edition.
Form
Japan has won four of its last five games against Panama (5-0), Zambia (5-0), Costa Rica (2-0), and Spain (4-0).
The teams solitary loss was a 1-0 defeat to European opponent, Denmark in an international friendly match back in April.
Player to watch
Hinata Miyazawa scored twice in two of Japan’s group games, on both occasions netting the first and third goals of the game before the 65th minute.
Norway
The Norwegians have enjoyed considerably less success since, only confirming their progress into the last 16 here by thumping the Philippines 6-0 in their last group game.
Despite their prior struggles, their biggest WWC win in terms of victory margin since 2003 was comfortably enough to knock out co-hosts New Zealand on goal difference (a win, a draw, and a loss).
Having ended a run of six official matches without a win (three draws and three losses), Norway coach Hege Riise must be hoping it proves to be a turning point, especially as they’ve won their last five WWC fixtures against Asian nations.
Already going into this match as underdogs, their chances of extending that run may rely on others stepping up if star striker Ada Hegerberg isn’t fit and firing after suffering a groin injury in the group stages.
Form
Norway’s form has not been impressive in recent times. The team’s 6-0 win over debutant, the Philippines in the final Group A match was the first win in seven games.
In the team’s last five games, it has won one, drawn two with Sweden (3-3) and Switzerland (0-0) while losing to Spain (4-2) and New Zealand (1-0).
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Players to watch
Norway’s Sophie Román Haug bagged a hat-trick against the Philippines and has netted her country’s first of the game in all four of her international goalscoring outings.
Hot streak
Norway have collected fewer than two yellow cards in each of their last eight games (two wins, three draws, and three losses).
Head-to-head
Japan has won four of the last five head-to-head games involving both sides. The Asian side had a 4-1 win over the European side during their last meeting in 2018 during an international friendly match.
Verdict
Japan should will this game barring any form of upset based on Norway’s unimpressive from.
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