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AFC Women's Asian Cup
Dominant in all their matches leading up to the final, the Nadeshiko had to dig deep to stop a buoyant home side backed by a record 74,397 partisan fans at Stadium Australia, much to the delight of the Danish tactician.
#WAC2026 | Final: Japan 1-0 Australia
“The match was 50-50, as I predicted yesterday,” said Nielsen. “Today, we had to fight really hard. Australia are a really hard team to play at home but before the game started, football in Australia already won. It was an amazing tournament.
“Australia are a world class team with world class players. They were led well by Joe (Montemurro) who always had something up his sleeves. We had a brilliant goal thanks to Maika (Hamano). She’s a talented youngster who’s on the way up.
“Sometimes we struggled, especially in the air. It was difficult to keep the balance in some moments and we unnecessarily lost the ball in our build-up. Congratulations to Australia for making the game that way. If there’s one team who can thrive in an unpredictable game, it’s them.”
“Australia are a world class team with world class players. They were led well by Joe (Montemurro) who always had something up his sleeves. We had a brilliant goal thanks to Maika (Hamano). She’s a talented youngster who’s on the way up.
“Sometimes we struggled, especially in the air. It was difficult to keep the balance in some moments and we unnecessarily lost the ball in our build-up. Congratulations to Australia for making the game that way. If there’s one team who can thrive in an unpredictable game, it’s them.”
#WAC2026 - Final: Joy & Tears
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While the performance on the day lacked the zip they had shown in the incredible run with wins over Chinese Taipei, India, Vietnam, Philippines and Korea Republic, the resilience shown in the back-to-the-wall end to the tie pleased Nielsen, who admitted he was fortunate to be able to work with a squad as good as Japan.
“I’m very lucky to be working with players that are that good. Japan can be an inspiration for many in some ways. We can find a style that fits our players because they are talented."
“I’m very lucky to be working with players that are that good. Japan can be an inspiration for many in some ways. We can find a style that fits our players because they are talented."
“We couldn’t find our own rhythm but the character of the players, the way they never stop playing, makes us 10-20 percent better.
“It’s nice to be good, it’s nice to be charming but if you don’t win the tournament, it doesn’t count. We didn’t play as well as we could have but they still made it count. It’s been too long since Japan last won a trophy so it was very important and well deserved.”
“It’s nice to be good, it’s nice to be charming but if you don’t win the tournament, it doesn’t count. We didn’t play as well as we could have but they still made it count. It’s been too long since Japan last won a trophy so it was very important and well deserved.”
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