Spain vs Japan: Rematch of 2018 U-20 Women's WC final in store

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, Spain Women's, Japan Women's, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

Four years on, Spain and Japan will renew acquaintances in the final at the 2022 Women's World Cup on Sunday, August 28th.

Preview: Spain vs Japan

On Sunday, Spain and Japan will meet in the latest iteration of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup final. For the second straight time the two sides will also be renewing acquaintances, and for Spain, having lost 3-1 four years prior, will be keen on revenge. Normally, this competition is played once every two years, but the 2020 edition ended up being cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In any case, this summer's event, which has been staged in Costa Rica, represents the tenth installment of the competition. Both Spain and Japan have naturally enjoyed a quite solid showing so far to make it to this juncture, and now, 90 minutes (or possibly more) will determine who lifts the coveted prize.

Spain come into this match having edged out the Netherlands 2-1 courtesy of a brace from Inma Gabarro. The 19-year-old, who plays her club football for Sevilla's women's side, is also a clear front runner for the coveted Golden Shoe and potentially the Golden Ball prize. Should she win, she will become the second Spaniard to win it after Patricia Guijarro did so during the 2018 edition. Gabarro has netted a whopping seven of her team's 11 goals to date, including single-handedly carrying her team through the knockout rounds with three strikes (one against Mexico and a brace in the aforementioned tie with the Netherlands).

In addition, despite much of the focus being on her goal-scoring efforts, Spain's formidable defense has been absolutely instrumental in them getting to this stage. So far, they have conceded just once - during their 2-1 win over the Netherlands in the semi-finals, but that could come under threat when they face Japan on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Japan could potentially become the first team in tournament history to win back to back titles. The current title holders won their first title back in 2018, and in doing so, became the first team other than the USA, Germany, and North Korea to win this competition. So far, the reigning champs have been quite solid, although their defense has been less than formidable recently. Although they cruised through the group stages without much fuss, beating Ghana, the Netherlands, and the USA while conceding just once, things have not been as smooth sailing during the knockout rounds.

First was a nervy match with France, during which the game went to extra time and penalties after the original match ended as a three-all draw. Japan did survive the ensuing spot-kick shoot-out, converting all five of their penalties to book a semi-finals clash with Brazil, but needed a late goal from Maika Hamano to avoid heading to potentially face a second consecutive match during which extra-time (and possibly penalties) would be required.

As such, four years after their first meeting in France, it will be very interesting to see if Spain can get revenge on Japan for their 2018 loss, or whether Japan will make history by winning a second consecutive trophy.

Match facts: Spain vs Japan

Spain and Japan are meeting once again in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup final
Japan beat Spain 3-1 in their first meeting back in 2018
Spain have one of the strongest defenses at this tournament, having conceded just one goal so far
Japan, meanwhile are hoping to become the first team to win back to back titles
In 2018, they became the first team other than the USA, Germany, or North Korea to win the prize