TSG Co-ordinator Kelly Cross

KUALA LUMPUR: Japan may have failed to win the title but they were still the best team in terms of overall performance, according to Kelly Cross, co-ordinator of the Technical Study Group analysing the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship in Kuala Lumpur.

Cross, who is attached to the Football Federation of Australia, felt Japan have more potential than any other team in the six-team tournament, including champions DPR Korea.

“I must mention that Japan is very impressive in terms of all-round technical ability, tactical ability and one-on-one ability,” said Cross.

“I love watching them play. They have been well coached and, although they have come up against physically bigger players, they know how to adapt their game to match their opponents.”

“They have a lot of young players and as they develop, they are going to be a formidable team.”

Cross was also impressed by the level of play of all semi-finalists in the tournament. DPR Korea beat Japan 3-0 in the final while Korea Republic defeated China 4-2 on penalties after their third-fourth play-off match finished 1-1 in 120 minutes.

Australia and Thailand failed to reach the last four.

“I think the standards are very high,” he said. “It showed that East Asia are still the dominant force in women’s football, certainly in this age group.”

“All four semi-final teams are very strong. I think the final standings are accurate, with DPR Korea and Japan being the strongest and China and Korea Republic not that far behind.”

“The top three teams who qualified for the World Cup will do well, I’m sure.”

Cross also picked nine outstanding players for the tournament with Japan contributing four of them. The Japanese players are: defender Shoko Otsuka, captain and midfielder Natsuki Kishikawa, livewire forward Mana Iwabuchi and striker Chinatsu Kira.

From DPR Korea, he chose leading goalscorer Yun Hyon-hi and midfielder Ho Un-byol while Korea Republic’s top players were Lee Hyun-young and skipper Ji So-yun.

China’s sole representative on Cross’ list was striker Li Wei.

“Definitely, there are a lot of good teams in Asia,” said Cross. “One thing good about watching this tournament is that you forget you are watching girls. The standard is so high that you just enjoy watching good football.”

“I think there is a good future for all these teams who played here.”