🏏 Thu, 17 Sep 2026 19:30 JST
Vietnam
vs
Japan Women
Positions estimated (no formation data from the API)
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Matchday two of the group stage at the Asian Games women's tournament, staged once again at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa with a 19:30 local kick-off. Japan played Thailand at the same ground on 14 September and return here on 21 September to face Chinese Taipei, so three matches inside eight days make squad management the real subplot of this group.
- Japan's 23-player list bears almost no resemblance to the 26-name senior group carried in this site's profiles, which includes Saki Kumagai, Yui Hasegawa, Aoba Fujino and Riko Ueki. Nils Nielsen, who was in charge when Japan met Vietnam on 10 March, is not here either: Michihisa Kano, who has led this particular selection since the April tour of the United States, takes the bench instead.
- Kano has changed six of his starting eleven from the Thailand opener. No. 11 C. Kamiya, No. 19 F. Mizuno, No. 15 J. Ito, No. 7 M. Hamada and No. 10 Y. Narumiya keep their places, while the goalkeeping jersey passes from No. 23 S. Ohba to No. 1 N. Asano. First-game starters No. 9 M. Ueno, No. 5 Y. Seno, No. 6 Y. Funa and No. 22 Y. Nakashima all drop to the bench.
- The three players who came off the bench against Thailand — No. 17 S. Takarada, No. 14 Y. Shiokoshi and No. 13 A. Kuwahara — are all promoted to the starting eleven, and No. 18 H. Yumura and No. 20 A. Tsujisawa, unused substitutes in the opener, get the nod as well. Spreading minutes while testing combinations is exactly what an early group phase is for.
- Vietnam are familiar opposition: the sides met on 10 March in the AFC Women's Asian Cup, and six of that night's Vietnamese starters — V. T. Hoa, H. Cu Thi, Thai Thi Thao, T. T. Thao Tran, V. Ngan Thi and T. Luong Thi — start again here. Where Japan have turned over their entire selection in six months, Duc Chung Mai sends out a recognisable core.
- Duc Chung Mai, who also led Vietnam in that March meeting, makes one notable switch between the posts. Rather than 169cm Khong Thi Hang (32), who started against Japan in the spring, the gloves go to 165cm K. Tran Thi (32), with Khong among the substitutes. Three goalkeepers are registered including L. T. Thu, so the rotation between the two veterans is worth tracking across the group.
- Vietnam's midfield leans on experience, with 33-year-old T. T. Thao Tran and 31-year-old Thai Thi Thao at its heart, while 31-year-old L. Hoang Thi (158cm) and 26-year-old T. Luong Thi (168cm) anchor the back line. The only forward named in the eleven is 22-year-old V. T. Hoa (163cm). With several players at or around 150cm, including V. Ngan Thi, the physical contrast in duels and set pieces will be obvious.
- Vietnam's bench carries plenty of tournament mileage: 31-year-old Pham Hai Yen, 32-year-old B. Nguyen Thi, 31-year-old Duong Thi Van at 150cm, and 28-year-old T. H. Nguyen T., who started against Japan in March. Duong Thi Van and B. Nguyen Thi were both introduced from the bench in that earlier meeting, so how Duc Chung Mai uses his changes late on is a genuine talking point.