Japan coach says Australia 'massive favourites' in Asian Cup final

Japan's head coach Nils Nielsen maintains that the host nation Australia are "massive favourites" for the Women's Asian Cup final on Saturday, although his sides almost perfect journey to the decider points to a different story.

The team with two previous titles has struck 28 goals over five matches thus far and allowed only one, during their commanding 4-1 semi-final triumph against South Korea in Sydney on Wednesday.

This creates a rematch of the 2014 and 2018 finals, both of which Japan won by a 1-0 scoreline.

On this occasion Japan must contend with a supportive home audience at the 83,500-seat Stadium Australia, while Nielsen from Greenland has added weight to the expectations on the Sam Kerr-guided Australia by naming them as favourites.

"The Matildas possess a truly impressive squad, they have adjusted effectively to any obstacles in their path," he commented following the South Korea success.

"They feature an outstanding coach... he has joined them recently and has already introduced plenty of beneficial adjustments.

"Performing before an audience of this size makes Australia strong favourites, in fact massive favourites for the decider."

Australia, victors in 2010, require an exceptional showing to defeat Japan, who impressed greatly versus a South Korea outfit that took second place behind China four years earlier.

Japan assumed dominance right from the outset and held sway over the ball through a fast-paced distribution style, overwhelming the Koreans who registered merely six efforts on target overall and just one prior to the interval.

By comparison, Japan launched 21 attempts and might have claimed a larger victory, as three strikes were overturned.

"That was a robust display," Nielsen observed, the ex-Denmark and Switzerland manager appointed by Japan late in 2024.

"Our goal was to advance beyond the standard we have set in the event up to this point, and we managed it. The win was fully justified, and truly we could have prevailed by an even greater difference.

"Having said that, putting away four is no minor feat, so there is no cause for discontent."