A young Nadeshiko Japan squad has proven itself as the real fighter on Friday after claiming victory against North Korea at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with a 5-3 score on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the women’s soccer final.
This counts as the team’s third consecutive Asian Games title and the fourth in the event’s history.
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Japan rallies to win shootout in final
The final at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa in Fukuroi, Shizuoka Prefecture, demanded nerve from both sides.
Japan struck first through Sanfrecce Hiroshima Regina forward Mami Ueno in the 32nd minute, but North Korea answered early in the second half and then edged ahead in the 69th minute, leaving the hosts chasing the game with time running short.
Help arrived from the substitutes’ bench.
Hanon Nishio of Omiya Ardija Women netted the equaliser in the 86th minute, dragging the final into extra time.
Neither side could find a winner over the additional period, and the gold medal was decided from the spot, where Japan was the steadier of the two teams with a 5–3 penalty shootout, a related report from The Japan News confirmed.
Extra weight
The result carries extra weight given the makeup of the squad.
Nadeshiko Japan was drawn almost entirely from the WE League, and 14 of its members were making their national team debuts.
Winning a continental final with so many newcomers and doing it from a losing position suggests a depth that bodes well for the future.
Head coach Michihisa Kano pointed to that quality in his assessment.
“It was reassuring to see them bounce back from the disadvantage and overcome it,” he said.
Focus turns to WE League and Brazil
The tournament was also framed as preparation.
With the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil set to kick off in June, the team treated the Asian Games as a chance to raise the overall level of its player pool, giving first-time internationals meaningful experience in high-pressure matches.
However, captain and midfielder Yui Narumiya of INAC Kobe Leonessa cut the celebration short after clarifying that attention was already shifting back to domestic duty.
“We don’t have time to bask in the afterglow of our victory. We just have to do our best in the WE League,” she said.
Japan not only sees the gold medal as a milestone but also as the beginning of another possible achievement.
The players have proven they can skilfully stir a tense match in their favour, and the road to Brazil now runs through the league season ahead.
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