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Hege Riise praised Ellen White as “excellent” after the striker scored her third goal at the Tokyo Olympics as a patient GB team secured her move to the knockout stage with a loss to the Japanese hosts.
“It was a great goal,” said the manager, of the winner with a header midway through the second half.
“That’s the little headroom you need when playing against a team like Japan, the detail that a great player has. This moment is a game-changer. She is a top scorer, she is always looking to score goals.
The win, in the remarkably cool Sapporo Dome, means Team GB move into their final Group E game against Canada in Kashima, east of Tokyo, needing a draw to dominate the group, while that defeat would ensure them to finish second behind their opponents. .
Japan, meanwhile, have to beat Chile and hope Team GB beat Canada to clinch second place in the group. If the hosts draw, they will have to hope to finish among the top two teams in third place.
Riise turned things around in an attempt to combat Japan’s technical force. Arsenal center-back Leah Williamson came for Millie Bright from Chelsea, the former being much more comfortable with the ball at her feet. Sophie Ingle, the only Welsh representative for the GB team, was brought alongside Keira Walsh as part of a two-man midfield in a 4-2-3-1 in an attempt to put the lead to the ‘GB team in central areas.
The effect, however, was to restrict play for Riise’s team. The powerful width and clever linking play between the midfielder and the front lines that had been so effective in a 4-3-3 against Chile on Wednesday was stifled by a combination of a disarmingly strong performance from the full-backs. Japanese sides.
They forced Lauren Hemp, Nikita Parris – to start in place of Georgia Stanway – and the overlap of Lucy Bronze on the inside on several occasions – and isolated Kim Little with both midfielders seated.
Instead, it was the hosts’ loose play that looked the most threatening. As Hemp, 20, struggled to turn back the clock, her Manchester City teammate Demi Stokes was roughed up by pair of midfielders Yuzuho Shiokoshi and Emi Nakajima on the left.
Japan, too, had made a host of changes to the squad that drew 1-1 with Canada in their opener. Five players have given way, including, somewhat surprisingly, goalscorer and new Arsenal signing Mana Iwabuchi.
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Zambia Striker Barbra Banda (pictured) scored her second hat trick in as many games to lead the scorers’ standings, but her side went winless in Group F after a 4-4 draw with China. For the second game in a row, Banda wasn’t even the top scorer on the pitch as Wang Shuang scored all four goals for China.
The Netherlands, who beat Zambia 10-3 in their opener, drew 3-3 with Brazil. Vivianne Miedema, scorer of four goals against Zambia, scored two more with Debinha and Marta in the goal for Brazil, who then took the lead thanks to Ludmila. Dominique Janssen equalized with 10 minutes remaining to keep the Dutch at the top of Group F on goal difference.
In Group E, two goals from Janine Beckie helped Canada past edge Chile with a 2-1 win. Canada can dominate the group with a victory over Team GB in their last game.
“We were a little surprised at the changes,” said Riise. “By bringing in these new players, they gained momentum within moments of the first half. These are the same kind of technical players who are exceptional in the combined game. They probably lack a bit of connection at the top.
In a tactical match, with each team trying to outsmart the other, the host nation had the advantage over their opponents in the first half and by the half hour the GB team found themselves increasingly in a hurry. A delicious, bursting run from Hemp before it got fouled up offered some relief from the pressure and time to regroup.
“The Japanese midfielder is so technical,” said Walsh.
“In the first half we were a little hesitant and we were probably not that much in the spotlight, but in the second half it was a lot better.
“We settled in and got in their face and were a lot more aggressive. It’s another great victory.
Frustrated but focused, Riise’s side emerged after the break with a renewed goal, but it was short-lived until Caroline Weir’s introduction for Ingle, and a midfielder three restoration that impressed during the break. of the first game, on time.
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“We put Sophie a bit more on the defense, I think it worked out well,” said the manager. “Of course, in attack we were missing a bit more. But we know it could happen. But I feel like the connections are getting better and better, which is what we have to get used to. This will also happen during the tournament. In the second half, we changed formation a bit and it went well, we controlled the game much better.
With the added boost from Scotland’s Weir on the pitch, the GB team have gone on the hunt. Again, the source of the breakthrough was familiar. Little, now seeing more of the ball, played against an overlapping bronze whose center found white to enter. It was another critical goal for the World Cup bronze shoe winner with England, this time when the GB team had the most pressure on an intense tournament run.
Riise will now have the luxury of resting a few tired legs in the last group game and bringing in some of the players who haven’t yet appeared, although she will have to balance that with the desire to dominate the group and keep the group going. momentum that comes with the back. consecutive wins.
“We are very happy with our two wins now. It puts us in a good position, able to rest the players and recover well, ”she said.
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