Japan U20 Women’s National Team secured top spot in Group C of the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Thailand 2026 after producing a commanding 5-2 victory over Australia U20 Women’s National Team at the Nonthaburi Stadium, Nonthaburi.
The six-time champions displayed their attacking depth in an entertaining encounter, overturning an early setback to claim a convincing win and finish the group stage at the summit.
Japan began the match brightly with Mao Itamura causing problems down the left flank in the opening minutes. The forward raced onto a through pass from Rinka Higuchi, but Australian defender Rubi Maye Sullivan reacted quickly to clear the danger.
The Japanese attack continued to threaten as Itamura again surged forward to meet Higuchi’s cross in the 12th minute, only to see her effort drift wide after outpacing several defenders.
Goalkeeper Ilona Melegh was kept busy for Australia, producing key interventions to deny further attempts from defenders Mone Sato and Yuna Aoki.
Despite Japan’s dominance, Australia opened the scoring in the 39th minute. Skye Halmarick linked up well with Avaani Prakash, who dribbled past three Japanese defenders before finishing calmly into the bottom corner to give the Young Matildas the lead.
However, Japan responded almost immediately. Just seconds before halftime, Noa Fukushima latched onto a long pass from Itamura and fired a precise diagonal shot past Melegh to level the score at 1-1.
Japan emerged from the interval with renewed momentum. In the 52nd minute, Miyu Matsunaga set up Fukushima, who calmly finished in a one-on-one situation to score her second goal and give Japan the lead.
The advantage was extended shortly after the hour mark when Matsunaga intercepted a pass and played through Natsumi Tago, who finished confidently to make it 3-1.
Japan continued to dominate the match, and substitute Miki Kimura added a fourth goal in the 80th minute with a powerful strike from the edge of the penalty area. Four minutes later, she scored again, curling a precise effort into the net from Tamami Aso’s corner.
Australia managed to reduce the deficit in the closing moments when Daisy Brown converted from close range after a pass from Prakash, but the comeback proved too little too late.
With the win, Japan finished top of Group C and will now face the third-placed team from Group A or B in the quarter-finals of the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup Thailand 2026.
Meanwhile, Australia advance as Group C runners-up and are set to face the Group B winners in the knockout stage.
Credit Photo : HongZheng Lim/SNE-Photo
