"Proving Asia's No. 1 Again" Japan Women's Soccer Achieves Historic First Three-Peat, Secures Record Fourth Gold... Defeats North Korea in Penalty Shootout After Goalkeeper Change [Aichi-Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.

The Japanese women's national soccer team has once again claimed the top spot in Asia.

The Japan Yeo Ja-chuk-gu (CEO) team, led by head coach Gano Michihisa, defeated North Korea 5-3 in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw following extra time in the women's soccer final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held on the 2nd at Stadium Eco-Pa in Shizuoka, Japan.

Japan has won the gold medal for three consecutive tournaments, following its victories at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang and 2022 Hangzhou Games. This marks the first-ever three-peat in the history of women's soccer at the Asian Games.

At the same time, by claiming their fourth overall title, they wrote another chapter in history. Since women's soccer was first adopted as an official event at the 1990 Beijing Games, Japan, China, and North Korea had each reached the summit three times, reigning as traditional powerhouses of Asian women's soccer.

However, this victory broke that balance. Japan became the first to reach the milestone of four overall titles, overtaking China and North Korea to stand alone as the most successful nation in the tournament's history.

True to its status as a final, the two teams engaged in a fierce battle throughout the match.

Japan took the lead first. In the 32nd minute of the first half, Ueno Mami scored the opening goal. Although her initial shot was blocked by the defense, she did not let the rebound go to waste and connected with a long-range shot to shake the net.

Japan led 1-0 at halftime but wavered under North Korea's fierce counterattack in the second half.

North Korea leveled the score in just two minutes of the second half through a goal by Jeong Geum. Riding high, North Korea added another goal from Jeong Yeong-jeong in the 24th minute of the second half to take a 2-1 lead.

It was Nishio Hanon who saved Japan from what looked like a certain defeat in the 41st minute of the second half.

Struggling to break through North Korea's defense, Japan found relief when Nishio penetrated into the penalty area and calmly finished her shot, creating a dramatic 2-2 tie.

Ultimately, the match could not be decided within regular time, and it went to extra time.

Neither team managed to score additional goals in extra time. The owner of the gold medal was ultimately determined by a penalty shootout.

North Korea threw their last card before the penalty shootout. They substituted their goalkeeper just before the end of extra time, preparing for the shootout.

However, Japan displayed greater concentration during the penalty shootout.

Japan successfully converted all five of their kicks, from the first kicker to the fifth, without missing a single one.

On the other hand, Japanese goalkeeper Oba Shu saved one of North Korea's penalty kicks. As a result, Japan won the penalty shootout 5-3 to secure the gold medal.

Japanese soccer media outlet Soccer Digest reported, "Japan dominated a fierce match to achieve their first-ever three-peat," adding, "They defeated North Korea in a penalty shootout to claim their fourth overall title, the most in tournament history."

Nikkan Sports also highlighted the path to victory, noting, "All five of Japan's kickers succeeded in the penalty shootout, and goalkeeper Oba made one save."

North Korea head coach Park Sung-jin expressed regret after the match, stating, "There were times when we controlled the game, but we failed to achieve the result we had aimed for."

He continued, "Such trials are necessary in the process of good players and teams moving forward," adding, "I told the players not to stop here, but to believe in themselves and move forward with strength."

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*This content was translated by AI.