Hinata Miyazawa scored twice, Japan cruises past Zambia 5-0 opening win at Women’s World Cup 2023.
— Hinata Miyazawa scored a pair of goals, while Mina Tanaka and Jun Endo each added a goal and an assist, as Japan shut out Zambia 5-0 to open Women’s World Cup play Saturday for both sides.
Miyazawa found the back of the net with one-time finishes on either side of halftime to secure an easy win over the Copper Queens in what was their World Cup debut.
Tanaka, denied goals twice on offside calls, scored in similar fashion in the 55th minute, assisted by Endo.
Endo then scored in the 71st minute, finding herself alone on the left side of goalkeeper Catherine Musonda’s goal and slotting home a left-footed strike.
Not only did Tanaka see two goals called back by VAR for offside, the Nakeshiko were awarded an early second-half penalty only to see it rescinded for yet another offside call.
The Group C clash was the first time a senior World Cup match was hosted at Hamilton’s Waikato Stadium. Saturday’s attendance of 16,111 nearly filled the stadium that holds just over 18,000.
What's Next
Japan will travel to Dunedin to face Costa Rica, who were shut out 3-0 in a poor showing against Spain. Zambia will take on a confident La Roja in its second match of the group stage in Auckland. Both matches will be played on Wednesday.
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apnews.com
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