Nadeshiko's great achievement! Who is the "new heroine" who scored a 30m goal in 18 seconds?

New Nadeshiko Japan defeats world number one ranked USA

The Japanese women's national soccer team, Nadeshiko Japan, faced the United States national team in their first international tournament under manager Nielsen, the SheBelieves Cup, on February 26th local time.
Just two minutes into the match, Yuka Momiki received a pass from Yui Hasegawa on the right wing in front of the opposing goalkeeper. She nimbly cut back, evaded the goalkeeper and defenders, and immediately fired a shot with her left foot, scoring the opening goal.

They conceded a goal and were tied, but in the 5th minute of the second half, Hasegawa took a free kick and aimed directly at the goal. Her superb shot aimed at the left corner of the goal was saved by the opposing goalkeeper, but Koga Toko ran in and calmly pushed the rebound into the goal, scoring the second goal.

After this, the US continued to play aggressively, but the Japanese defenders maintained their concentration and held firm, securing a 2-1 victory over the US. Japan had only won once in 40 previous matches against the US, making this their first win in 13 years.

Makino praised the dramatic victory, saying, "This win is very significant. I think they had a sense of inferiority, but it's clear that the players are proactively taking on challenges. Up until now, their style of play has been to sit back, defend, and look for one chance to counterattack, but now they're winning by devising their own plans and having a clear understanding of what they need to do. Nadeshiko Japan is steadily evolving. With the change of manager and the rise of the younger players, it's also revitalizing the team, which I think is a very good thing."

Just 18 seconds into the match, Young Nadeshiko's Momoko Tanikawa scores a 30-meter shot.

One of the promising young players introduced as a key supporter of the in-form Nadeshiko Japan team is Tanigawa, who plays for Bayern Munich. In the SheBelieves Cup match between Nadeshiko Japan and Colombia on February 23rd local time, Tanigawa stole the ball from an opponent near the center line just 18 seconds into the match, dribbled past defenders, and scored a spectacular long-range shot from outside the penalty area from a distance of approximately 30 meters.

Tanigawa was also the top scorer in the Swedish Women's Football League in 2024, her first year playing abroad, and her scoring ability is outstanding despite being only 19 years old.

Makino was impressed by Tanigawa's physical strength, saying, "He's a right-footed player, but he carried the ball forward to the left and scored with his left foot from a position far from the goal, into the opposite side of the right corner of the goal. You can't make a shot like that without strong adductor muscles in your thighs. I think it's a shot that would work even in men's soccer."

When asked if she could become the first Japanese woman to win the Ballon d'Or, he praised her highly, saying, "It's entirely possible. She's a type of player we haven't seen from Japan before. There have been players with technique and who can control the game, but there aren't many who can make a shot from that position. She's only 19, so I'm looking forward to seeing her future success."

Speaking of the Japanese national football team, attention is also focused on the players from the Japanese men's national team playing overseas. Brighton's Mitoma and Monaco's Minamino have both scored in three consecutive matches, Real Sociedad's Kubo has scored a spectacular goal, Bayern's Ito has scored the first goal by a Japanese player, Freiburg's Doan has scored a career-high 8 goals in the Bundesliga, and Celtic's Maeda has scored 26 goals in all competitions this season, all of them scoring goals prolifically in Europe. In particular, Ito, whom Makino had been keeping an eye on, has returned from injury and made his first start in the 23rd match, scoring his first goal. It will be exciting to see Ito's performance in Germany, where many Japanese national team players are also on the team.
On March 20th, the Japanese men's national team will play Bahrain in the FIFA World Cup 26 Asian final qualifying round (third qualifying round). What kind of performance will they deliver?

From "ABEMA Sports Time #76" (aired March 2, 2025)
*The information in this article is current as of the time of publication.