(MENAFN- Arab Times) Japan completed the quarter-final lineup for the Women's World Cup on Tuesday when the defending champions rolled into the last eight with an impressive 2-1 win over the Netherlands. The only team in the tournament to have won every game, Japan dominated the Dutch debutantes with their speed and skill and move on to Edmonton and a Saturday meeting with Australia, who booked their last eight spot with an upset of Brazil. An early strike from Saori Ariyoshi and a 78th minute missile from Mizuho Sakaguchi accounted for Japan's scoring, while Kirsten Van De Ven provided some late drama when her tame injury-time header somehow found its way past a static Ayumi Kaihori. For the Dutch the loss was double disappointment ending their stay in Canada and a chance to qualify directly for the Rio Olympics soccer tournament. The top three European teams at the World Cup will qualify for Olympic berths which will go to France and Germany. England also made the quarter-finals but is ineligible for the Olympics meaning the other European nations that appeared in the World Cup; Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain and the Netherlands will now play a mini-tournament in February or March to decide the third spot. "I would like to say that we ended every attack with a shot. That was the key to success," Japan coach Nori Sasaki told reporters.
"I am sorry to say we kept your suspense right until the end. "I tried to have a stable one-sided game but we always have these tense moments. "Sorry about that." Playing their first match in nine days, the Netherlands looked rusty and were fortunate to reach the break just 1-0 down after Japan dominated the opening half, generating chance after chance and hammering 13 shots at the Dutch goal. But the Netherlands came to life in the second and were close to finding an equaliser in the 75th minute off a wild scramble from a corner, Kaihori blocking the initial goal-bound deflection before Van De Ven had her blast blocked on the line. Despite the close call the Japanese refused to panic and the 'Nadeshiko' calmly worked the ball down the field with Sakaguchi providing a thundering finish to some superb buildup play that included a cheeky back heel pass and dummy run. The match against Australia is a repeat of last year's Women's Asian Cup final that the Japanese won 1-0 in Vietnam.
"Australia is a completely different team this time, they have improved quite a lot," said Sasaki. "They are technically better. "I must say Australia has great potential right now and we need to be aware of that." Australia are not the same side that lost last year's Asian Cup final to Japan and can dump the reigning champions out of the quarter-finals of the women's World Cup next weekend, coach Alen Stajcic said. Japan set up a meeting with the Matildas by beating the Netherlands 2-1 in Vancouver on Tuesday to reach the last eight for the third time in seven World Cups. Australia had spent a couple of days waiting to confirm their quarter-final opponents after stunning Brazil 1-0 but Stajcic did not think Japan's win meant the Matilda's campaign would come to an end in Edmonton on Saturday.
"We've got a big assignment on our hands - the current world champions and a very good team," Stajcic said. "But as I've said before we're a very good team as well and we've been dangerous against everyone and there's no reason we can't be dangerous when we play Japan and be a real threat. "I'm confident we can beat them but it's going to be an extremely tough match and we will need to be at our best for 90 minutes." Australia met Japan twice at last year's Asian Cup in Vietnam, drawing 2-2 after being two goals up and losing the final to a 28th minute Azusa Iwashimizu header from a corner. Stajcic took over shortly before that tournament on a caretaker basis after Dutch coach Hesterine de Reus was sacked in the wake of a player mutiny over her training methods. While Stajcic said the Matilda's should still be wary of Japan's passing and movement off the ball, he also reminded his players of how much they have improved in the last year. "I think the biggest thing we've learnt is the belief we have in the team, I think if we play to our potential we can match it with the world champions," he added.
"That was 12 months ago and we've grown a lot since then on and off the field, and it just gives us great belief that we can match it with the world champions and if we play to our potential we can certainly beat them this time around." Australia's women footballers should be offered more "attractive conditions" including higher match fees, their union said Wednesday after the team dumped star-studded Brazil out of the World Cup to reach the quarter-finals. The women's national team, the Matildas, will be paid just A$750 ($581) each under their current contract when they take on reigning champions Japan on Saturday in Edmonton, Canada, for a place in the semi-finals. In contrast, their male counterparts are paid A$8,500 each when they play in the quarter-finals of a comparable tournament, excluding bonuses, according to a separate agreement. "What we are seeing at the moment with the Matildas is that many of them are having to combine their playing commitments with part-time jobs and they're also trying to juggle that with studying," a spokesman for the union, Professional Footballers Australia, told AFP.
"(But) the Matildas' commitments are very much full-time. They've been in camp for 120 days over the past six months and they are away from their families so to be able to balance those commitments with any sort of meaningful employment is extremely difficult." The spokesman said the union - which is in negotiations with governing body Football Federation Australia (FFA) as the current Matildas agreement expires in July - was pushing for the players to "receive what is a fair and equitable share of revenue", although that may not necessarily mean pay equality with the men. He added that providing more "attractive terms and conditions" - including for match fees, travel arrangements and accommodation - was necessary to keep top athletes in the game and provide a viable career path. The Matildas, who are on a minimum annual playing contract of A$21,000, were paid A$500 each for their Women's World Cup group matches and will get A$1,500 if they make the final. The Socceroos - the men's national team who won the Asian Cup in Sydney earlier this year - have match payments of A$7,500 each for major tournament group games, with the fees rising to A$11,500 for a final. They are not given a base pay but receive far greater commercial payments and sponsor bonuses. The FFA said it had invested heavily in the Matildas'World Cup preparations and was pushing hard to secure more sponsorship.
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