In less than 30 seconds from kick-off, England’s Jodie Taylor shot hard into the Japanese goal but the ball narrowly missed the target. In the next few minutes, both teams made attempts in each other’s goal but the targets remained elusive. England had their chances through Toni Duggan, whose shot sailed over the bar while there was no one to tap Jill Scott’s cross a few minutes later. After 30 minutes of evenly played game, Japan mounted a forceful attack, which culminated with Azusa Iwashimizu sending a promising long ball to Saori Ariyoshi. The Japanese forward drew a foul on Claire Rafferty, who appeared to have brought down Ariyoshi from behind. TV replays seemed to suggest that the first contact was not in penalty area but the referee Anna-Marie Keighley promptly awarded a penalty to Japan. England supporters hooted the decision as Aya Miyama placed the ball on the spot. She took her time before dancing her way to the ball and outfoxing Karen Bardsley. Japan went ahead 1-0. While English fans continued to rue the questionable decision, England equalized 7 minutes later from another piece of debatable decision by the referee. When England captain Steph Houghton fell down in the box, Japan’s Yuki Ogimi was singled out for the foul. In any case, England won the return penalty and Fara Williams did what Aya Miyama had done for Japan.
Beginning the second half at 1-1, the two teams played desperately for the crucial goal. Japan were the first to come close to scoring but soon England went into an offensive in the 62nd minute, when Toni Duggan fired a stinging volley but it got deflected off the crossbar. Then in the 66th minute, Jill Scott missed an open goal, when a corner came to her. Japan brought Mana Iwabuchi in the 70th minute and she got to work straightaway. Despite attacks and counter-attacks, no goals could be scored by either team. With the clock ticking away, both teams raised the tempo of the game in a bid to find the match-winner. To their credit, England prevented all Japanese forays in the dying minutes and as two minutes were added to the regulation time, everyone thought of the ensuing 30 minutes of extra time. But Japan had fortune in their favor as a winning goal came to them in an extraordinary way. Japan’s Nahomi Kawusumi delivered a brilliant curling cross and while no Japanese player could reach there, Laura Bassett attempted a brave sliding clearance. She got unlucky as the ball crashed off the underside of the bar and sailed over the goal-line. While Basset had only her tears, England’s dreams of the first ever final in the World Cup lay in a heap.