The Philippines nearly made it to half-time, but Japan Women struck twice in stoppage time and went on to dominate with a 7-0 win in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup quarter-finals.
Mina Tanaka made the breakthrough with a diving header from almost on the line, after a good save from Nina Meollo and a consequent goalmouth scramble.
After a succession of corners, Togo Koga doubled the lead with a close-range header.
Another quick brace followed going into the last quarter of the match, as Remina Chiba turned in Aoba Fujino’s cross and Manaka Matsukubo got away from three defenders to fire into the roof of the net.
Koga scored her second of the match, with Momoko Tanikawa and Riko Ueki also getting on the scoresheet for a 7-0 result.
Japan now play South Korea for a place in the final, while the Philippines face a play-off with Uzbekistan.
Semi-finals:
Tuesday 17 March – Australia v China (10am GMT)
Wednesday 18 March – South Korea v Japan (9am GMT)
Play-in matches for World Cup and inter-confederation play-offs:
Thursday 19 March – Uzbekistan v Philippines (3am GMT)
North Korea v Chinese Taipei (9am GMT)
All streamed live at www.youtube.com/@AFCAsianCup
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