FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 | Japan vs Spain | As it happened | Heartbreak for Japan as Lopez's late brace takes Spain home

Spain defeated Japan in one of the most dramatic matches of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022. Two late goals from Vicky Lopez took the defending champions through to the semi-finals. They will now face Germany in the second semi-final, which is again touted to be one of the most exciting matches of the tournament. Japan showed discipline throughout the 90 minutes of the match except for a few occasions.

Although Spain was always better with attacks via Caria Camacho, Jone Amezaga, and Lucia Corrales, Japan found a way to stop them till the last minutes of the game. Spain earned an early penalty but Caria Camacho missed it by a mile. Japan's Momoko Tanikawa opened the scoring for the Asian team in the 65th minute and looked to make an upset in the quarter-finals. But, Vicky Lopez's brace in the 85th and 90+2nd minutes proved why the Spanish team are the defending champions of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Read the full match report Japan vs Spain match from our Live Blog.

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Match Details

Match: Quarter-final No. 4
Time: 8.00 pm
Ground: Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, Goa
How to watch: You can watch the match live on FIFA+, Voot App and Sports18 Network in India.

Japan vs Spain | LIVE Blog

The LIVE Blog of Japan vs Spain will start as soon as the lineups are announced. Stay Tuned.

Lineups:
Japan: Uruha, Uno, Sakura, Kokoro, Maho, Miharu, Miyu, Tsujisawa, Tanikawa, Rina (C), Toko
Spain: Sofia, Judit, Sandra, Marina, Lucia, Vicky Lopez, Caria Camacho, Jone Amezaga, Sara Ortega, Cristina Libran, Marina Rivas

Score: Japan 1-2 Spain

8.00 pm
Kick-off: It is drizzling a bit at the PJN Stadium in Goa as things get going.

8.06 pm
6' | Spain with some early attacks in the Japanese half. Corrales, Camacho and Amezaga created all the spaces in the forward line for the Spanish team.

8.09 pm
9' | Cristina Libran with a great run from the left and went for a solo wonder goal. However, she gets blocked by Toko Koga of Japan.

8.11 pm
11' | Japan's Tanikawa Momoko with a beautiful run for left. Unfortunately, there was no one to receive her cross in the right for Japan.

8.18 pm
18' | Japan on the attack with Miyu Matsunaga from the left. She was trying to get into the box but lost her control. Spain tried to make a counter-attack with Jone Amezaga but gave a free-kick to Japan for a foul on Sakura Oya.

8.23 pm
23' | Spain creates a lot of space from the left with Cristina Libran and Vickey Lopez. The cross nearly found Jone Amezaga but Sakura Oya came to the rescue for Japan.

8.33 pm
33' | A huge chance for Spain. Caria Camacho had her eyes set on the goal but shoots it just wide of the goal.

8.35 pm
35' | Penalty for Spain. Toko Koga (Japan) concedes a foul on Caria Camacho in the box. Caria herself takes the penalty and shoots it over the bar. A chance is gone for Spain.

8.46 pm
Half-time: A few chances for Spain, but Japan was good with their defence. Spain is using their speed to create more spaces through the wins. However, the Japanese defence has been solid except the one occasion.

Half-time score: Japan 0-0 Spain

9.05 pm
48' | Brilliant save from the Japanese goalkeeper Uruha Iwasaki. Lucia Corrales' shot from the left of the box would have found the net if she had not blocked the shot.

9.12 pm
55' | Another huge save from Uruha Iwasaki. Shot from Vicky Lopez from the middle of the box. Uruha dives and saves the ball.

9.22 pm
65' | GOOOALLLLL! Japan leads. What a goal from Momoko Tanikawa. A left-footed delight from the mid-fielder. This might be the goal of the world cup so far. It is Japan 1-0 Spain.

Note: Momoko Tanikawa is now the joint-top scorer of the tournament with 4 goals in 4 games.

9.29 pm
73' | Uruha has been impressive for the Japanese team. She saves another goal-bound shot from Yuna Marui. Meantime, Spain keeps on attacking.

9.36 pm
80' | The Spanish team is looking desperate and frustrated now. Japan's discipline and teamwork have just been top-notch.

9.43 pm
86' | GOOOALLLLLLL! It is Vicky Lopez with perhaps the most important goal of her career till now. Spain is back in the game. Japan 1-1 Spain.

9.46 pm
90' | 3 added minutes.

9.48 pm
90+2 | GOOOOAALLLLLLLLLLL! It is Vicky Lopez again. Heartbreak for Japan. But this Spanish team is built for something special. Japan 1-2 Spain.

Final Score: Japan 1-2 Spain