AFP, Vancouver :Goals in either half from Saori Ariyoshi and Mizuho Sakaguchi put holders Japan into the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands.Defender Ariyoshi scored her first goal for the “Nadeshiko” after 10 minutes at BC Place Stadium with midfielder Sakaguchi getting the second after 78 minutes.Kirsten Van de Ven headed in a consolation goal for the 12th-ranked two minutes into injury time.The champions overpowered the Dutch newcomers from the outset and could have been further ahead at half-time but for some sloppy finishing.Aya Sameshima missed a golden opportunity for a second goal after 22 minutes but hit over the bar from close range.Further opportunities also went astray with Shinobu Ohno firing over just before the half-time whistle.The second half also saw more misses with Sakaguchi having one of her shots blocked at 67 minutes.And Japanese goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori did well to punch out a close range effort from Van De Ven after 76 minutes.But two minutes later, Sakaguchi sealed victory to put Japan through to the last eight, where they play Australia in Edmonton on Saturday for a place in the semi-final.It will be a rematch of the 2014 Asian Cup final which Japan won 1-0 to take the title for the first time.Japan take the last quarter-final spot in the tournament.In other last-eight fixtures, top-ranked Germany play France, ranked third, in Montreal on Friday as China take on Olympic champions United States in Ottawa while on Saturday hosts Canada clash with England at Vancouver.
