A 4-0 loss to Japan has seen Vietnam miss out on a place in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup quarterfinals as they finished behind Uzbekistan and Philippines in the best third-placed team rankings.
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Tournament favourites Japan have warmed up for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup quarterfinals with a 4-0 thrashing of Vietnam in Perth.
Just three days after smashing India 11-0, Japan were again in a dominant mood as goals from Riko Ueki, Maika Hamano, Aoba Fujino and Kiko Seike sealed the three points against Vietnam in front of 3,648 fans.
Given eight of the 12 teams make the quarterfinals, world No. 36 Vietnam would have gone through to the final eight with a narrow loss to Japan at HBF Park on Tuesday night.
But the size of the defeat means Philippines, who finished third in Group A, and Uzbekistan, who finished third in Group B, go through instead.
World No. 8 Japan topped Group C with a perfect three wins and a 17-0 goals for-and-against tally, setting up a quarterfinal clash with Philippines.
Chinese Taipei, who beat India 3-1 on Tuesday night, finished second and will now face China in a quarterfinal in Perth on Saturday.
The other two quarterfinals pit Australia against North Korea in Perth on Friday night, and South Korea against Uzbekistan on Saturday night in Sydney.
Japan enjoyed 80% possession in the first half and would have led by more than 1-0 at the break if not for some strong saves from Vietnam goalkeeper Khổng Thị Hằng.
Ueki opened the scoring in the 21st minute with a strong header from just six yards out.
Thị Hằng pulled off a stunning diving save in the 30th minute to deny a sizzling strike from Fujino.
And Thị Hằng was at it again just before halftime, with her cat-like reflexes denying Ueki’s flying header.
The second half was all one way traffic as Japan finally finished off their chances.
Hamano scored in the 51st minute when she latched onto Momoko Tanikawa‘s scuffed shot to hit the back of the net.
It was 3-0 in the 64th minute when Fujino unleashed a low curling strike to beat the keeper’s outstretched hands.
And the demolition was complete three minutes later when substitute Seike’s shot from the edge of the box hit the upright and bounced in.
