Defending champions Japan expectedly secured their place in the quarter-finals of the AFC Women's Asian Cup after a dominating 3-0 win over Vietnam in a Group C match in Pune on Monday. (More Football News)
The win took Japan to six points from two matches and they, together with Korea Republic, who defeated Myanmar 2-0 earlier on Monday, are assured of a top two finish.
The two East Asian rivals will meet on Thursday to decide the top spot while Vietnam will aim to defeat Myanmar in order to stand a chance of claiming one of the two best third-placed slots into the knockout stage.
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Japan, defending the AFC Women's Asian Cup titles won in 2014 and 2018, started with their confidence high following the 5-0 win over Myanmar with head coach Futoshi Ikeda only retaining captain Saki Kumagai, Risa Shimizu and Mina Tanaka in his starting lineup.
Japan took the lead in the 38th minute when Vietnam goalkeeper Tran Thi Khim spilled Hana Takahashi's effort, with Narumiya converting from close range.
They doubled their lead five minutes into the second half as Kumagai was the fastest to react after Tanaka's header saw the ball rebound off the woodwork.
Japan found their third eight minutes later with Kumagai at the heart of the action, as the skipper redirected a corner kick into the centre of the box for an unmarked Narumiya to slot home.
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Korea Republic Beat Myanmar
Earlier, Korea eked out a 2-0 win over a resolute Myanmar side in another Group C match at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex.
Lee Geum-min opened the scoring four minutes into the second half and Ji So-yun, the game's Most Valuable Player, played a major part in the second -- an own goal by Mayanmar -- seven minutes from time.
The Koreans looked set to make light work of their opponents, with Cho So-hyun heading wide inside the first minute, but Myanmar frustrated them as the first half wore on.
