Japan took a big step towards the Beijing Olympics by overpowering South Korea 6-1 in the women's football Asian final qualifying round on Sunday. The Japanese women overwhelmed the visitors with quicker and more accurate passes from the outset, keeping the ball most of the game.
"I feel relieved that we took three points from the win. My players moved really well," said Japan coach Hiroshi Ohashi. Tomomi Miyamoto opened the scoring for Japan in the ninth minute, forward Shinobu Ono added the second in the 20th minute and Eriko Arakawa made it 3-0 with a header just four minutes later.
South Korea, who lost to Japan in the Asian Games semi-finals in December, mustered their first shot only in the 26th minute, when Park Hee-Young fired wide.
The ball again nestled in the South Korean net after the 34th minute when their goalkeeper Kim Jung-Mi fumbled a Japanese cross. South Korean midfielder Ji So-Yun came on in the second half, but to no avail, as Japanese substitute Kanako Ito and Japan's top scorer Homare Sawa scored in the 66th and 68th minutes to make the score 6-0.
South Korea managed a consolation goal through substitute Jung Hae-In in the 74th minute. It was the third straight qualifying win for the Japanese, who have already defeated Vietnam 2-0 and Thailand 4-0, and lead the four-team Group A.
South Korea's coach said the team had been outclassed. "We were completely beaten today. The Japanese team played much better than us. We have many injured players and we couldn't play our game," said An Jong-Goan.