North Korea led with 21 minutes left, and Japan won a third straight Asian Games women’s gold on penalties
Hanon Nishio’s late equaliser forced extra time in Fukuroi, and Shu Ohba’s save gave Japan a 5-3 shootout win over North Korea in the final.
Oct 3, 2026
Japan had not conceded a goal on their way to the final. North Korea scored twice in 22 minutes against them in Fukuroi on Friday night, and Japan still finished with the gold medal.
The hosts came back from 2-1 down with four minutes of normal time left, survived extra time and won the shootout 5-3. Goalkeeper Shu Ohba made the only save of the shootout, from North Korea’s third taker, and Yuzuho Shiokoshi scored the fifth kick to finish it.
Ueno, then two North Korea goals
Mami Ueno put Japan ahead in the 32nd minute at Shizuoka Stadium, and for most of the first half the final looked like it would follow the rest of their tournament.
North Korea were level two minutes after half-time. The ball was bundled in from close range, and the goal stood after a VAR check. In the 69th minute Jon Ryong Jong put them in front.
Japan had not trailed at any point in the tournament. Now they needed a goal, with about 20 minutes left to find it.
Nishio drags it to extra time
It came in the 86th minute. Hanon Nishio finished coolly, and neither side could find a winner in the 30 minutes that followed.
The shootout was clean on both sides until the third round. Ohba saved, Japan’s takers kept scoring, and Shiokoshi’s penalty settled it before North Korea needed a fifth.
Three in a row for the first time
This is Japan’s fourth Asian Games women’s football title and their third straight, after Jakarta in 2018 and Hangzhou in 2022. Japan and North Korea had split the previous six titles between them, three apiece, and North Korea are still waiting for their first gold since Incheon in 2014.
It is also a first title for coach Michihisa Kano, who took over after Nils Nielsen stepped down less than two weeks after beating Australia 1-0 in Sydney to win the Asian Cup in March.
Japan’s men can make it a double on Saturday. They meet South Korea in the men’s final at Toyota Stadium, with kick-off at 4pm IST, after edging Uzbekistan 9-8 on penalties in their semi-final.