SYDNEY (AP) — Toko Koga headed in two goals as Japan routed Philippines 7-0 on Sunday to advance to the Women’s Asian Cup semifinals and secure a spot in next year’s World Cup in Brazil.
The 20-year-old Tottenham defender scored in first-half stoppage time and again in the 76th minute as Japan improved its tally to 24 goals and none conceded so far in the 2026 championship.
Japan will play 2022 runner-up South Korea on Wednesday for a spot in next weekend’s final.
“It’s always nice to score a lot of goals and for the players to show what they can do, but it’s not going to help us against Korea,” Japan coach Nils Nielsen said. “I knew we scored a lot, but for the semifinal, (earlier goals) can’t help us.
“We will be ready to play South Korea.”
Four years ago, Japan lost on penalties to eventual champion China in the semifinals, ending its title defense.
All the semifinalists in Australia qualify automatically for the 2027 Women’s World Cup. The losing quarterfinalists go into playoffs for two more guaranteed places in Brazil.
Slow start, big finish
Japan completely dominated possession and field position but wasn’t able to score for 45 minutes against a determined Philippines defense anchored by goalkeeper Nina Meollo.
Once the first goal went in — Mina Tanaka’s header from point-blank range after a scrappy scramble in the goalmouth — it started a flow for the top-ranked team in the tournament.
Three minutes later, Koga jumped to meet a corner from Honoko Hayashi and angled it into the back of the net to give Japan a 2-0 halftime lead.
The Japanese scored twice in three minutes midway through the second half to lead 4-0, with Remina Chiba sliding in with a right-foot shot from the edge of the box in the 65th from Aoba Fujino’s long, floating cross and Manaka Matsukubo scoring in the 67th.
Koga scored again with a close-range header to make it 5-0 before substitutes Momoko Tanikawa and Riko Ueki added further goals in the last four minutes of regulation.
“Obviously it’s tough to take but you’re playing probably the best team in Asia … probably one of the top five teams in the world,” Philippines coach Mark Torcaso said. “Our girls showed a lot of determination in that first half. We had a lot of younger players out there in the first half, and they got some really good exposure and experience, so I’m really proud of that.
“But we’ve got another game to worry about to get to a World Cup, to play Uzbekistan, so we’ll just turn the page over and we’ll focus on the next one now.”
Japan, the 2014 and 2018 champion, scored a tournament-leading 17 goals in the group stage.
China beat Taiwan 2-0 in extra time in a Saturday quarterfinal set against geopolitical tensions to move into a semifinal against host Sam Kerr ‘s Australia, which beat North Korea 2-1 on Friday night.
Iran’s exit
The last of the quarterfinals was played hours after Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced another three members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who accepted refugee visas to stay in Australia have decided to return Iran.
Initially, six players and a support staff member accepted humanitarian visas to stay in Australia before the rest of the Iranian contingent flew from Sydney to Malaysia on March 9. So far, four of those have elected to rejoin the Iran squad which has temporarily remained in Kuala Lumpur.
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