Japan defeats DPR Korea 2-1 and qualified for Paris 2024

Tokyo: Goals from Hana Takahashi and Aoba Fujino were enough to earn Japan a berth at the Olympic Games in Paris as Futoshi Ikeda’s side defeated DPR Korea 2-1 in Tokyo on Wednesday to secure qualification for the summer’s finals.
Victory means the Japanese, Olympic quarter-finalists on home soil in 2021 and winners of the silver medal in 2012, join Australia as one of Asia’s two representatives in the women’s tournament at the finals in July and August.

The Japanese, who took the lead through Takahashi in the 26th minute and saw Fujino double the advantage in the 76th minute, were made to sweat on their progress at a chilly National Stadium as Kim Hye Yong’s 81st minute goal gave DPR Korea hope of a first appearance at the Olympics since 2012.

With the teams level after a scoreless draw in the first leg in Jeddah on Saturday, Jo Hyu Sun’s early speculative strike from close to 40 yards sailed over Ayaka Yamashita's crossbar while Mami Ueno’s effort from the corner of the DPR Korea penalty area bounced harmlessly across the face of goal.

The Japanese broke the deadlock in a tense game in the 26th minute.

Yui Hasegawa’s free kick from midway inside the DPR Korea half was eventually met by the head of Mami Ueno, with Minami Tanaka flicking towards goal and Pak touching the ball onto the crossbar. Possession fell to Takahashi and she prodded into an empty net.

Fujino threatened to add a second eight minutes later with a right foot drive on the run that flew over Pak’s bar.

DPR Korea looked set to level the scores in the dying seconds of the half, only for the intervention of Yamashita, who threw herself to the right to scoop Choe Kum Ok’s goal-bound strike off the line with the Japanese defence caught napping.

Sun Hyang Sim kept Yamashita on her toes two minutes after the restart, forcing the goalkeeper into action with a shot on the turn while Hikaru Kitagawa bent in a cross from the left that Tanaka glanced across the face of goal.

Kiko Seike then steered her attempt wide under pressure from the on-rushing Pak as the game approached the final quarter, the substitute directing Ris Shimizu’s low centre from the right wide.

When Japan’s second eventually came, it did so from a similar route as Fuka Nagano released Shimizu down the right to step inside Pak Sin Jong and set up Fujino to head in with 14 minutes remaining.

Any thoughts the Japanese had of easing off were quickly shelved when Kim Hye Yong pulled a goal back, beating Yamashita to Ri Hak’s well-weighted through ball from deep to clip her shot home.

But it was not enough to spark a revival for the Koreans as Japan held on.