Back to steamy Kashima unfortunately. This game really has Korea Part II written all over it, with hopefully same result.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/300369534/improving-olywhites-face-toughest-test-yet-in-tokyo-olympics-quarterfinal-against-japan
Hay made four personnel changes as well as a change of system for Wednesday’s match under a closed roof at the Sapporo Dome and said afterwards: “We wanted to freshen things up”.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/olympics/300369534/improving-olywhites-face-toughest-test-yet-in-tokyo-olympics-quarterfinal-against-japan
Hay made four personnel changes as well as a change of system for Wednesday’s match under a closed roof at the Sapporo Dome and said afterwards: “We wanted to freshen things up”.
“We wanted to bring some players in that hadn't been exposed to the tough conditions that we faced down in Kashima [where they played their first two matches, in temperatures around 30 deg c].
“The idea was to have some legs and in the Dome it's a lot cooler, set at 19 degrees, so it allowed us to actually step on and press a lot higher.
“A lot of that was down for the conditions, and we just showed our ability to maintain possession a little bit better than we have over the last couple of games.”
“A lot of that was down for the conditions, and we just showed our ability to maintain possession a little bit better than we have over the last couple of games.”
The OlyWhites had 59 per cent of the ball against Romania, up from 44 per cent against Honduras, and 37 per cent against South Korea, and looked dangerous in the first half, before things got tighter in the second, where goalkeeper Michael Woud made a pair of saves to deny Romania, who might have only needed a goal to win and advance themselves.