Dutch advance to Women's World Cup quarterfinals with 2-1 win over Japan

Japanese girls are not bettered by anyone in this world cup, including the US, as far as technical control and passing skills are concerned.

What does ‘technical control’ mean? Do you mean controlling a ball?

As for passing, if you mean knocking it sideways, it’s a skill but not a very difficult one. How do you think they measure up with on the money through balls? As good as anyone?

Shooting is a technical skill and one they didn’t excel at.

Even I can look pretty handy at my age controlling a ball and knocking it sideways, but if you want me to play someone in with a perfectly weighted pass or nutmeg a defender and slot one into the corner, you’ll see the limitations of my ‘technique’.

The Japanese media trots out the ‘technique’ line for the men and the women when they win, lose or draw and often after they couldn’t hit a cows’s arse with a banjo in front of goal.

Anyway, credit to a young Japanese side. I think they’ll be very presentable in the next World Cup. Good luck to them.

More work on shooting needed. A key technique.

The new handball law led to referee Melissa Borjas awarding the penalty because Saki Kumagai's hand blocked Vivianne Miedema's shot, even though there was no clear intention.

I saw the play and the replay, and it sure looked like the ball hit her in the bicep area, if that is a "handball" then she is guilty of the foul. Not knowing all that much about soccer here, I kind of feel sorry for her as it sure as hell did not look intentional.

The Women Samurai sure played an inspired match, they should keep their heads up high!

Ganbare Japan!Today 07:51 am JST

That wasn't a penalty. Worst decision of all time. There's no way there was a "handball", the ball accidentally hit Kumagai-sans upper arm. Lodge official protest.

Can only assume you don't know the rules at all or you're just stirring the pot.

As Alfie and Saiko clearly mentioned, it's handball. No one really likes such unintentional contact rules, but it's clear. Many a world cup dream has been lost like this before. Many.

Football is a game built on nerve, luck & frustration - often tipping the balance oh so easily. Have 20 shots to 5 on goal, have 75% of the play and lose 0-1. Or a ball glances a wayward hand and bingo - Goal.

After that game, I need to watch a replay of an Aussie Rules game to settle down to reality.

Just don't say the Dutch played better because they did not!

True, but you don’t win a game of football on points. As the Japanese coach said, they had their chances but didn’t take them.

Out you go.

This was a decent show from a Japanese side in transition. They could be a force again in 4 years time.

The new "handball" rules:

A free kick or penalty will be awarded if:

the ball goes into the goal after touching an attacking player's hand/arm

a player gains control/possession of the ball after it touches their hand/arm and then scores, or creates a goal-scoring opportunity

the ball touches a player's hand/arm which has made their body unnaturally bigger

the ball touches a player's hand/arm when it is above their shoulder (unless the player has deliberately played the ball which then touches their hand/arm)

The infraction would probably be close to the 3rd example. "the ball touches a player's hand/arm which has made their body unnaturally bigger". On the article I read it didn't say anything about intentional or not but one of the other articles mentioned a kick would be awarded even if it were not intentional.

Ganbare Japan!Today 07:51 am JST

That wasn't a penalty. Worst decision of all time. There's no way there was a "handball", the ball accidentally hit Kumagai-sans upper arm. Lodge official protest.

Comedy gold. You claimed to be a follower of football (Liverpool and Urawa Reds, I believe) yet you clearly know nothing about the major rule changes created by IFAB (the International Football Asoociation Board, the body that has ultimate control over the laws of the game) earlier this year. The new rules came into force on June 1st, in time for the Women's World Cup and the Copa America and will be in force globally next season, 2019-20.

https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/football-rule-changes-what-are-the-new-additions-to-2019-20/1nt8llqwfqkje1qe1qbwdct06a

The refereeing at the Women's World Cup has been abysmal, with each referee seemingly making individual interpretations of the law change. FIFA only decided to use VAR in France in March, which is why the referees don't know what they're doing with the new rules. They didn't have any time for VAR training. Good old FIFA, as crap as usual.

Basically, any handball inside the penalty area is a penalty now whether it's deliberate or not. Coupled with the slo-mo VAR replays this is a disaster for the game.

That wasn't a penalty. Worst decision of all time. There's no way there was a "handball", the ball accidentally hit Kumagai-sans upper arm. Lodge official protest.

As if lodging a protest is ever going to magically make the result any different. Welcome to football where decisions made by the ref are protested by fans throughout different leagues and international tournaments. I think you probably meant lodge an official complaint.

@Alfie Noakes

Comedy gold. You claimed to be a follower of football (Liverpool and Urawa Reds, I believe) yet you clearly know nothing about the major rule changes created by IFAB (the International Football Asoociation Board, the body that has ultimate control over the laws of the game) earlier this year. The new rules came into force on June 1st, in time for the Women's World Cup and the Copa America and will be in force globally next season, 2019-20.

https://www.goal.com/en-us/news/football-rule-changes-what-are-the-new-additions-to-2019-20/1nt8llqwfqkje1qe1qbwdct06a

The only comedy here is that your link explains a rule change for handballs by an attacker, not defender.

Doesn’t seem like a fair call even though it is technically correct. Just too easy for the ball to touch upper arm without intent.

Ok, let’s move on past the handball & PK.

japan had plenty of chances to score before that, but due to some resolute Dutch defending, bad finishing & the crossbar, they missed the chance to go ahead.

overall they deserved to win, but unfortunately that’s football.

this is why nobody watches it

Spectacularly misinformed.

I can’t see any way to make the handball rules so clear they become free of discretion.

Sometimes you’ve just got to take it on the chin. Part of the game.

Seems the new tech is really working out great for everyone.

They should allow a replay of the match, if FIFA really is serious about fairness.

Oh hell...right, so from now on when the loosing side gets beat fair and square they should get a rematch?

You got to be a millennial. thinking you are entitled to "winning" even when you lose!

Grow up.....

The person who eliminated the contextual bit about "the distance between the opponent and the ball" from the FIFA rules on hand balls and penalties needs to get his or her head checked. There was just no way that Kumagai could have reacted quickly enough to avoid contact. I have watched the beautiful game for 21 years now, but that was for sure one of the weakest calls I've ever seen made to decide the outcome of a match.

Some things are better left untouched when they are not broken to begin with.

David VarnesToday 08:23 am JST

Upper arm, lower arm, hand or fingers, the handball rule applies from the tip of the shoulder to the ends of the fingers. So regardless of where it hit the arm, the handball rule comes into effect.

This is where the whole mess about the rule change is wrong. Less than a month ago, everyone knew that several elements of context had to be considered in the awarding of the penalty. In this particular case, the most striking argument to go against the awarding of a penalty is the very short distance between ball and hand. In most leagues, referees would give around 2 yards as the maximum tolerable distance since there is just no time for the defender to react when the ball is shot. Unless you want players to play with their hands tied in the back like in Medieval times, it makes no sense to not consider that element since Kumagai appeared to stand well within 2 yards from the shot.

Rugby has a lot of subtleties to their rules when referees call upon the TMO to give a verdict. But they are fully transparent in calling the decisions with regards to those contextual elements. Depite all the changes FIFA may want to bring, I don't think those are fair nor transparent enough.

WolfpackToday 08:47 am JST

Doesn’t seem like a fair call even though it is technically correct. Just too easy for the ball to touch upper arm without intent.

Exactly. The element of distance was a fair part of context to consider in the awarding of any penalty. Now that this part doesn't appear to stand anymore, we will have a million penalties because players will be instructed to shoot into players' hands. The can of worms has been well and truly opened.

I don't need football to be a high-scoring affair because a number of newbies can't appreciate the game for what it has always been. I'm not gainst VAR, but I'm against the way rules have been changed and are applied for the sake of satisfying those who want to see more goals.

Well-deserved victory by the better team who also happen to be rather pleasing on the eye.

The Dutch looked good in the first 30 minutes, but then Japan took over the last 15 minutes of the first half. Then in the second half, the Dutch faded away in terms of energy levels while Japan became more aggresive on the attack with those many chances.

Japan LOST and in the books

Get over it.

Upper arm, lower arm, hand or fingers, the handball rule applies from the tip of the shoulder to the ends of the fingers. So regardless of where it hit the arm, the handball rule comes into effect.

and how can u say her arm was 'outstretched/"

With the last Asian team eliminated, the Women's World Cup will have a record seven European teams in the quarterfinals. Norway and England meet in Le Havre on Thursday and France takes on the United States the following night. After the Netherlands plays Italy on Saturday, Germany and Sweden will meet.

As I've mentioned here, came to pass

https://japantoday.com/category/sports/us-in-the-world-cup-quarterfinals-after-2-1-win-over-spain#comment-1920359

If China and Japan both lose today, it'd be all Europeans + USA left (an UEFA + USA cup)

Well-deserved victory by the better team who also happen to be rather pleasing on the eye.

Anyone that watched the match will agree that Japan was the better team. Even the Dutch fans all admit they got lucky today.

Maybe that's not what they meant with "pleasing on the eye", lol

Still, an exciting game and hard luck to the Japanese team.

Well-deserved victory by the better team who also happen to be rather pleasing on the eye.

What have looks got to do with it?

Close call for my home country while they played a good game in the first half they burned out pretty fast in the second' if they had not gotten that penalty they probably would had a tie breaker.

If they play like this match they wont survive against Italy this weekend so I hope they learned something from this game.

Had to endure the joking remarks from my staff and neighbors today but it was all in good fun.

its a stupid rule. there was no intent to touch the ball. the rule should be changed but that will never happen because its soccer. this is sport that just now is getting used to video replay. other sports have had it for at least a decade now.

"victory by the better team"

Just don't say the Dutch played better because they did not!

"The Japanese media trots out the ‘technique’ line for the men and the women"

In this case I would advise you to send a strongly worded reprimand to most European media, the BBC included for saying that the Japanese women style of play is "Barcelonesque"; don't blame moi. Bluntly, they're called the Barcelona of women's football; don't blame the Peeping.

The Euro media also is touting the J-quad as the most proficient in terms of ball control with either feet, something no other team seems able to get anywhere close to doing.

Again, don't blame me.

I also play football, so I think I know good ball control when I see one; and I'm not at your age yet.

Football is a game built on nerve, luck & frustration

and flopping. this is why nobody watches it. did you see the empty stands...

Well-deserved victory by the better team who also happen to be rather pleasing on the eye.

better team who also happen to be rather pleasing on the eye

agree with that!

"True, but you don’t win a game of football on points. As the Japanese coach said, they had their chances but didn’t take them.

Out you go."

You might be a gazillion % correct; I did not say Holland did not deserve the win or that Japan should have won it.

But Holland did not play better in any shape or form; Japan was the better team, yet they lost.

You and I know that the better team does not always win football matches.

Japanese girls are not bettered by anyone in this world cup, including the US, as far as technical control and passing skills are concerned.

its a stupid rule. there was no intent to touch the ball. the rule should be changed 

I agree 100 percent, Stick man. Its not fair to Nadeshiko. They should allow a replay of the match, if FIFA really is serious about fairness.

Well-deserved victory by the better team who also happen to be rather pleasing on the eye.

Holland may have won on the pitch, but Nadeshiko-Japan have beaten them in the looks department. Just my opinion!

I think it was too hot in the stadium for the referee so she took this unfair chance to end the game. Sorry, it happened but the penalty was unavaoidable, got shot at from half a meter distance and even hit where the body would've been even without the outstreched arm. So the game was turned upside down by the referee. What a shame.

That wasn't a penalty. Worst decision of all time. There's no way there was a "handball", the ball accidentally hit Kumagai-sans upper arm. Lodge official protest.