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[1/2]Soccer Football – FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023 – Group C – Japan Training – Caledonian Sports Ground, Dunedin, New Zealand – July 25, 2023 Japan’s Hina Sugita with teammates during training REUTERS/Molly Darlington
AUCKLAND, July 26 (Reuters) – High-flying Japan and Spain will be eager to build on dominant opening wins in the Women’s World Cup by securing knockout berths with a game to spare on Wednesday while Canada face Ireland, needing a victory to ignite their campaign.
Japan have advanced to the knockouts in the last three World Cups, winning in 2011 and finishing as runners-up in 2015, and are in control of their own fate after cruising to a 5-0 win over Zambia in their first Group C match.
They will not be lulled into a false sense of security, however, with coach Futoshi Ikeda warning his squad against underestimating their next opponents Costa…