Japan's dramatic victory over Taiwan puts pressure on the Vietnamese women's team

The Japanese women's team began their campaign favorably by beating Chinese Taipei 2-0.

On their opening day at the 2026 Asian Cup Finals, the Japanese women's team defeated their opponent Taiwan (China) 2-0.

Right from the opening whistle, the Taiwanese women's team actively dropped deep with a five-defender formation, even keeping their key striker Su Yu-Hsuan on the bench to strengthen their defensive front. On the other side of the pitch, Tanikawa played as the highest attacker alongside Mina Tanaka and Maika Hamano.

In the early minutes, Hamano caused trouble by repeatedly cutting into the left flank. In the 10th minute, Aoba Fujino tried her luck with a long-range curler that forced goalkeeper Wang Yu-Ting into a save. The rebound fell perfectly to Tanikawa, but her subsequent shot narrowly missed the far post.

Japan continued to increase the pressure. In the 32nd minute, Hamano headed inaccurately from Hikaru Kitagawa's cross. Just before halftime, Tanaka delivered a cross that caused Hsu Yi-Yun to awkwardly deflect the ball toward her own goal, but Wang managed to save it right on the goal line.

After the break, the match situation didn't change much. Japan still tirelessly searched for gaps in the opponent's dense defensive block. Tanaka and Tanikawa repeatedly tried their luck but couldn't overcome Wang's excellent performance.

The turning point came in the 61st minute. From Hana Takahashi's lofted pass into the box, Tanikawa controlled it with her chest, turned to shake off the defender, and fired a decisive shot to open the scoring. The goal relieved the psychological pressure for the East Asian representative.

In stoppage time, Remina Chiba provided a precise assist for Seike to rise high and head home, sealing a 2-0 victory and concluding Japan's challenging yet effective opening match.

With their first three points, Japan looks ahead to their next match against India, while Taiwan will face the Vietnamese team in a crucial match for their chances of advancing.