Japan Cruises to 5-0 Opening Win over Zambia at Women's World Cup

Japan's Jun Endo celebrates her goal with teammate Hinata Miyazawa, left, during the Women's World Cup Group C soccer match between Zambia and Japan in Hamilton, New Zealand, Saturday, July 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Juan Mendez)
Japan's Jun Endo celebrates her goal with teammate Hinata Miyazawa, left, during the Women's World Cup Group C soccer match between Zambia and Japan in Hamilton, New Zealand, Saturday, July 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Juan Mendez)
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Japan Cruises to 5-0 Opening Win over Zambia at Women's World Cup

Japan's Jun Endo celebrates her goal with teammate Hinata Miyazawa, left, during the Women's World Cup Group C soccer match between Zambia and Japan in Hamilton, New Zealand, Saturday, July 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Juan Mendez)
Japan's Jun Endo celebrates her goal with teammate Hinata Miyazawa, left, during the Women's World Cup Group C soccer match between Zambia and Japan in Hamilton, New Zealand, Saturday, July 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Juan Mendez)

Hinata Miyazawa scored a pair of goals, while Mina Tanaka and Jun Endo each added a goal and an assist, as Japan shut out Zambia 5-0 to open Women’s World Cup play Saturday for both sides.
Miyazawa found the back of the net with one-time finishes on either side of halftime to secure an easy win over the Copper Queens in what was their World Cup debut, The Associated Press reported.
Tanaka, denied goals twice on offside calls, scored in similar fashion in the 55th minute, assisted by Endo.
Endo then scored in the 71st minute, finding herself alone on the left side of goalkeeper Catherine Musonda’s goal and slotting home a left-footed strike.
Not only did Tanaka see two goals called back by VAR for offside, the Nakeshido were awarded an early second-half penalty only to see it rescinded for yet another offside call.
The Group C clash was the first time a senior World Cup match was hosted at Hamilton’s Waikato Stadium. Saturday’s attendance of 16,111 nearly filled the stadium that holds just over 18,000.
Zambia struggled to find its footing in its World Cup debut. Star striker Barbra Banda found herself isolated at the top of the pitch and marked by three Japanese defenders for much of the night.
Deep into second-half injury time, the Copper Queens' fortunes went from bad to worse as goalkeeper Catherine Musonda, who started the match in place of an injured Hazel Nali, was sent off with a second yellow card for a foul in the box.
Initially, Riko Ueki’s penalty hit the underside of the crossbar, but VAR ruled the penalty be retaken for goalkeeper encroachment. Ueki sent her second chance into the lower right corner of the net.
KEY MOMENT
Aoba Fujino nearly scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the match, but it was her ranging run and subsequent assist in the 43rd minute that put Japan in control. The victory was Fujino’s first World Cup match and first assist for her country at just 19 years old.
WHY IT MATTERS
Japan now sits first in Group C, ahead of Spain on goals scored, and the Nakeshido remain unbeaten in opening World Cup matches since 1995. With a loss and five goals to the bad on goal differential, Zambia faces a longshot fight to qualify for the round of 16 with Spain and Costa Rica as its next opponents.
WHAT’S NEXT
Japan will travel to Dunedin to face Costa Rica, who were shut out 3-0 in a poor showing against Spain. Zambia will take on a confident La Roja in its second match of the group stage in Auckland. Both matches will be played on Wednesday.



Premier League Opens Office in Mumbai 

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates by taking a selfie after winning the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur and clinching the Premier League title at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates by taking a selfie after winning the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur and clinching the Premier League title at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP)
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Premier League Opens Office in Mumbai 

Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates by taking a selfie after winning the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur and clinching the Premier League title at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah celebrates by taking a selfie after winning the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur and clinching the Premier League title at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP)

The English Premier League is expanding its global footprint with the opening of a new office in Mumbai, strengthening its commitment to one of football's most passionate fan bases.

The Mumbai hub will build on nearly two decades of Premier League engagement in India, where the League has run grassroots initiatives since 2007 through its Premier Skills program, supporting thousands of coaches and young people in 18 states.

At elite level, the Premier League has collaborated with the Indian Super League since 2014, sharing expertise in governance and development. Their joint Next Gen Cup youth tournament will feature its sixth edition in Mumbai next May, featuring ISL youth teams competing against Premier League Under-19 sides.

"We and our clubs have a fantastic and knowledgeable fanbase in India, and we know football continues to grow in popularity," Premier League Chief Executive Richard Masters said.

"Opening this office marks a significant milestone for the Premier League. It will allow us to operate more effectively locally as we build on our existing work to establish more ways to strengthen our relationship with fans."

The Premier League established offices in Singapore (2019), New York (2023) and Beijing (2024) as part of its global strategy of strengthening local partnerships and combating content piracy.