Perth, March 7 A hapless India suffered a humiliating 0-11 defeat at the hands of former champions Japan in their second group match of the AFC Women's Asian Cup here.
Before the match, it was clear that former FIFA World Cup champions and currently world No. 8 Japan would be the favorites.
However, the way Japan dominated their opponents highlighted the difference in class between the two teams, and how much India needs to improve to compete against top-tier rivals.
Japan enjoyed overwhelming possession and played most of the match in India's half. The Indian team, which had not played any international matches in the last four months, resembled a club side throughout the match.
Yuzuki Yamamoto (4th minute), Yui Hasegawa (13th), Hinata Miyazawa (20th, 35th, 81st), Kiko Seike (45+5th, 55th), Riko Ueki (47th, 50th, 65th) and Maya Hijikata (62th) all scored for Japan, who were almost unstoppable.
After the defeat, India is currently at the bottom of Group C with zero points and a -12 goal difference.
However, this result is not a major setback for India, as a victory against Chinese Taipei by a two-goal margin in their final group match on Tuesday could see India finish second in the group and qualify for the quarter-finals.
Beating higher-ranked Chinese Taipei will be a challenging task for India, who had previously lost to Vietnam 1-2 in their opening group match. Chinese Taipei had defeated Vietnam 1-0 on Thursday.
India head coach Amelia Valverde made three changes to the starting XI, bringing in Juli Kishan, along with debutants Aveka Singh and Sarita Yumnam, in place of Grace Dangmei, Nirmala Devi Phanjoubam, and Shilky Devi Hemam.
Japan, whose several players play in top European leagues, made as many as nine changes from their previous match starting XI against Chinese Taipei. Japan had won that match 2-0.
Japan quickly took the lead in the fourth minute with a quality curler from Yamamoto, who cut inside from the right and placed the ball into the top corner with her left foot.
India had little chance to venture out of their box, playing with five defenders, with Manisha Kalyan the lone figure upfront, trying to catch stray clearances to play to her teammates.
Japan's defence quickly nipped any fledgling Indian attack in the bud, a trend that lasted the majority of the 90 minutes.
Japan doubled their lead in the 13th minute, when Yamamoto turned provider, swerving past Sanju from the right again, before cutting it back for her captain Hasegawa to score from inside the box.
Hasegawa, in turn, became the provider for the next goal, setting up Miyazawa for Japan’s third in the 20th minute.
The Blue Tigresses were well and truly pinned back, with centre-backs Sweety Devi Ngangbam, Juli Kishan, and Martina Thokchom fighting tooth and nail.
Goalkeeper Panthoi Chanu Elangbam made a flurry of saves to prevent Japan from inflicting further damage.
However, the 2014 and 2018 Asian Cup champions combined their wingers and midfielders to isolate the India wing-backs and create chances, especially down both flanks.
Midfielder Honoka Hayashi, in the 35th minute, slipped one between the lines to Miyazawa, who poked it past Panthoi to score the fourth at the near post.
Seconds before the half-time whistle, Japan were awarded a penalty after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) deemed Sweety to have committed a foul on Saki Kumagai inside the India box. Seike calmly sent Panthoi the wrong way from the spot-kick.
Not much changed in the second half, as Ueki, who came on as a substitute at half-time, scored two goals in quick succession, before Seike added the eighth goal with a tap-in.
Just over the hour mark, Hijikata scored the ninth with her header, while Ueki completed her hat-trick in the 65th minute with yet another header from inside the box.
Miyazawa also completed her hat-trick with nine minutes of regulation time left, scoring another tap-in, as Japan’s superior wing play opened up the Indian defence.