Nielsen's Japan Dominates Asian Cup, Aims Higher
Japan wins Women's Asian Cup, but muted home response sparks media coverage debate. Coach Nils Nielsen urges more attention, eyes World Cup success.
Japan triumphant, but media shy at home...
Japan's coach, Nils Nielsen, is warning that his team needs to up their game if they want to win the Women's World Cup next year. Despite their dominant performance in the Asian Cup, scoring 29 goals and conceding just one, Nielsen believes Japan needs “different tools” to succeed on the global stage.
Japan's recent victory over Australia 1-0 in the Asian Cup final was impressive, but Nielsen is focused on the challenges ahead. He mentioned that Japan faced difficulties controlling the tempo of the final against Australia, and they'll likely face similar challenges at the World Cup.
Japan's women's football team, led by coach Nils Nielsen, had an impressive run in the Asian Cup, scoring 29 goals and conceding just one. This impressive performance sets the stage for next year's World Cup in Brazil.
As the only Asian team to have won the world title, Japan knows it can't rest on its laurels. Coach Nielsen emphasized the need for continuous improvement if they want to repeat their success.
“We found some parts of ourselves that are really strong,” the Greenland-born coach said after returning to Tokyo.
“There are also elements that we saw, we had some difficulty getting the final to be on our terms because of the opponent's strength.
“We will see that again at the World Cup, that means we need to find some different tools how to get the game to be the way we want it.”
Japan's got a rich football history - they won the World Cup in 2011 and were runners-up in 2015. But they've struggled to replicate that success, not making it past the quarterfinals in major tournaments since then.
With the World Cup in Brazil looming, Japan's aiming to turn things around. Coach Nielsen's focused on strengthening the team to make a deep run.
Nielsen's squad in Australia had a strong England connection, with 16 players based in the English league, including captain Yui Hasegawa and forward Maika Hamano, who scored the winning goal in the final.
The coach is optimistic about his team's growth, saying, “We've grown a lot together already and that's not going to stop.”
“You need to grow more, you need to constantly be moving,” said Nielsen.
“If you are satisfied and accept status quo, you're not going to be good enough in the end.”
Japan's victory marked a milestone for the Women's Asian Cup, with over 350,000 fans attending the tournament, showcasing the growing popularity of women's football. This attendance figure is roughly six times the previous record set in China in 2010.
The Sydney final drew a record-breaking crowd of 74,397, setting a new benchmark for single-game attendance in the tournament's history. This impressive turnout highlights the increasing interest and support for women's football in the region.
You NEED to see how Japan's coach signed off after winning the Asian Cup 😂🍻
— Football360.com.au (@football360au) March 21, 2026
Nils Nielsen has been dropping gold all tournament - and his final word might have been the best of the lot.
If Australia didn't love him already... the guy LOVES a beer too 😅🇦🇺 "WHAT KIND OF COUNTRY… pic.twitter.com/eUUHDr7DnB
Japan's win didn't quite spark the same level of excitement at home, with the final not airing on terrestrial TV and a relatively low-key media response.
Coach Nils Nielsen thinks Japanese media should give the team more coverage, saying, “you will get your value back if you do because they are worth following.”
“We are not at the same place as they are in Europe and around the world,” he said.
“We are competing with other sports that are very popular.”
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