Japan: Wide area combination play

FIFA Women's World Cup 2011™ winners Japan opened their 2023 campaign with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over tournament debutants, Zambia. The game brought together an interesting clash of styles. The AFC side favoured intricate and organised build-ups interlaced with mesmerising movements, while the CAF side have shown in their impressive pre-tournament friendlies the capacity to play with pace, power and lighting-fast counter-attacks. 

• When playing in a 3-4-3 and in possession of the ball, it is crucial that wing-backs maintain their team's width; this stretches the opposition's defence.

• Rotations between wide forwards and wing-backs can be a useful tactic for creating space.

• Unexpected and early forward runs and passes can be used to exploit space in behind, especially when playing against a high defensive line.   

• Central midfielders that identify and occupy space between the lines of the opposition can help facilitate switches of play and exploit space. 

When in the build-up phase of their 3-4-3 system, Japan wanted their three forward players to occupy Zambia's back four. They also wanted their wing-backs to push high and wide to occupy the spaces left vacant by their opponents, who were protecting the central corridor of the pitch. As can be seen in the clips below, by positioning players in the wide areas Japan could lure opposition defenders out of their team shape. The Nadeshiko used clever player rotations, fast combination play and runs from deep to then overload Zambia's full-backs 2v1 and expose the spaces that opened.

They built play patiently, initially through their three centre-backs circulating balls into their central midfielders or out to their wing-backs until they could see spaces opening. 

According to Pellegrino, "The way they executed their build-up was so methodical. Even when they won the ball back and had the opportunity to counter-attack quickly, they opted instead to play backwards to defenders or midfielders and adjust their shape before initiating their attacking patterns. They knew exactly what they wanted to do and were able to recognise where the pressure was, and where the space was. 

"If Zambia could not get pressure on the ball, Japan targeted the space in behind using longer passes,” she explained.

Role of the wing-backs
Japan's wing-backs played key roles in how they attacked. If the ball was on their side of the pitch, they positioned themselves high and combined or rotated with their inside forwards to overload the opposition full-back, opening up the space between the opposition player and their centre-back. This space could then be accessed by playing through-passes to release runners from deep. Meanwhile, the wing-back on the opposite side was always proactively supporting the attack by occupying the space at the back post. This system stayed the same throughout the match – even after Japan replaced their starting wide players.  

The effectiveness of the width provided by Japan's wing-backs was not lost on Pellegrino. 

"I have played in a 3-5-2 where we used wing-backs and we always talked about width but so often we did not have it because players could be fearful of not getting back into shape quickly enough if the team lost the ball. This was common in the women's game ten years ago but now players have more confidence and belief in their capacity to recover quickly and that is why I was so impressed with the way Japan were able to stretch the width of the pitch," she added.

Role of the central midfielders
Japan's centre-midfield pairing of Yui Hasegawa (14) and Fūka Nagano (10) played crucial roles in how their team retained and progressed the ball. A notable feature of their ability to control and dictate the tempo of the game was the speed at which they could move the ball.  

As Pellegrino explains, "What's emphasised here in the third clip below is the speed of Japan's combination play and their technical ability. Their ability to open their body shape and receive the ball in the direction they want to play the next pass means they can progress the ball and break lines quickly. Great care is also taken in the accuracy of the passes played, to ensure the player receiving the ball can do so on their back foot, facilitating a faster forward action. 

"Their midfielders also read the game very well. They could identify the spaces between Zambia's lines, kept the ball moving and played many forward passes. The team were not afraid to make forward runs from inside to get on the end of line-breaking passes from their wing-backs or wide forwards also."

Final third entries
Of Japan's 70 final third entries against Zambia, 48 (70%) occurred in the wide channels with effectiveness noted particularly down the Nadeshiko's left channel. Left centre-back Moeka Minami (3) completed 15 line breaks around Zambia's team shape, the most of any other player in the game. Her partnership with left wing-back Endo (13) was extremely influential, with the wide player entering the final third nine times through the left, outside channel alone.

Zambia adopted a relatively high defensive line and at times had success, catching Japan offside on nine occasions, the most of any team in the tournament so far and more than any team in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019™.

However, Japan's centre-backs were often able to build play without direct pressure because Zambia centre-forward, Barbra Banda (11), was isolated and the only player from her team pressing in Japan's half. 

Japan's ability to expose space in behind Zambia's defensive line often resulted from the speed of their play, meaning it was difficult for their opponents to get effective pressure on the ball. This space was exposed through combination play and balls over the top to fast forward runners.

Speed of play
The speed of their passing sequences, combined with their willing runners, often drew defenders out of position, leaving space to exploit. With Zambia's goalkeeper preferring to position herself closer to her own goal, the distance to her defensive line did not always allow the keeper' to defend the space in behind.

At times Japan stretched the distance between Zambia's lines, particularly when Banda was pressing high, and the defensive line started to drop, realising there was no pressure on the ball resulting in space opening centrally. The multi-dimensional elements to Japan's play made them difficult to defend against.

Offers in behind
In total, Japan received the ball in behind Zambia's defence 27 times, registering in the top 2% of performances for both this tournament so far and the 2019 edition.  

They were especially effective down their left-hand channel with left wing-back Endo and left wide-forward Hinata Miyazawa (7) receiving the ball in behind six times each. In total, Japan offered in behind and received the ball 46 times, setting the standard at this tournament so far, and more than any team at the Women's World Cup four years ago. Of these, 28 were performed by the wing-backs and wide forwards, with Miyazawa performing the most.

The width created by Japan in their attacking team shape coupled with their ability to move the ball quickly with fast player rotations and combination play resulted in the creation of lots of space. Zambia's difficulties in applying effective pressure meant Japan were frequently able to penetrate the areas in behind the defensive line. 

The clip below demonstrates many of the qualities that Japan displayed in this game.