Malaysia lose 16-0 to Japan in football

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s Under-20 Women’s Asian Cup qualifying campaign came to an embarrassing end after suffering a 16-0 defeat to reigning champions Japan in their Group F match at the KLFA Stadium on Friday.

It was one of the most lopsided results in recent tournament history as the Young Tigress were completely outplayed in every department, conceding once every six minutes on average.

Japan made their intentions clear from the start, with Anon Tsuda opening the scoring in the fourth minute after finishing off a low cross from the right. Mao Itamura doubled the lead in the 14th minute after finding herself unmarked in the box, and two minutes later, she added her second with another easy finish as Malaysia’s defence failed to reorganise.

Tsuda showed her class again in the 23rd minute, beating five defenders before coolly slotting home, and completed her hat-trick on the half-hour mark with a simple left-foot tap-in.

Itamura then completed her own treble in the 34th minute, extending Japan’s lead to 6-0.

Asako Furuta got on the scoresheet in first-half added time, sidestepping Malaysia’s backline to make it 7-0 at the break.

But Japan weren’t done. Just 30 seconds after the restart, Furuta capitalised on a defensive lapse to add her second. Kojima joined the act in the 53rd minute with a composed finish, before scoring again six minutes later.

Tsuda returned to the spotlight with her fourth goal in the 60th minute as Japan hit double digits, and Sawa Tsuge made it 12-0 just four minutes later with a header. Yuka Kurimoto struck twice in the 69th and 78th minutes, punishing Malaysia’s tired legs and static defending.

Kojima completed her hat-trick in the 89th minute, and deep into stoppage time, Furuta added her third and Japan’s 16th with a close-range finish, sealing the rout.

The defeat leaves Malaysia with two losses, having earlier gone down 0-3 to Iran, and a staggering 19 goals conceded without reply in the tournament so far.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

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