In the first of yesterday's semifinals, Japan battled it out against South Korea in an evenly matched game that saw Japan beat South Korea two goals to one.
In a match that seesawed for much of the opening 20 minutes, Japan's Kobayashi Yayoi opened the score in the 10th minute with a volley from outside the penalty area.
A combination of tight defense and respectable marking by the Japanese quickly saw off South Korean advances and the match reverted to a hard fought mid-field battle.
When in the 27th minute Korea was awarded a free kick on the edge of the penalty area, Lee Ji-eun hammered the ball into the back of the net to restore equilibrium.
As the opening 45 minutes came to a close, the Koreans continued to pressure Japan but to no avail.
The South Koreans continued to prove the more aggressive of the two sides as the second half got off to a very fast start, but later deteriorated into a mid-field melee.
Then, with little more than a minute to play, a mad scramble in the Korean box left Japan's Otani Mio with little work to do but nudge the ball into the net a meter from the goal-line.
She made no mistakes and kicked Japan into the final.
RSS