The goals came in the second half. In the 54th minute, Miyu Matsunaga dribbled past three rivals in the area, reached the end line and crossed a ball that Manaka Matsukubo finished off with a first intention, beating the Liefting goalkeeper.
Ten minutes later, judge Karen Hernández rejected, after reviewing the VAR, a possible penalty reported by the European team.eo, after a struggle in the area in which forward Eva Oude Elberink fell to the ground.
The second goal came in the 83rd minute, when high pressure allowed Miku Hayama to filter a pass in the area to Matsukubo, who shot to Liefting’s side and signed his double.
The Netherlands, which reached the semifinal after defeating the host Colombia in an intense duel decided by penalties, was outmatched throughout the match and had only one shot on goal, in the 85th minute.
The Japanese, who have the tournament’s top scorer, Maya Hijikata, with five goals, now wait for North Korea.
The final will be played on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. local time (9:00 p.m. GMT) at the El CampÃn stadium in Bogotá.
Asian final
Earlier, also in Cali, North Korea beat the three-time champion United States 1-0.
With a goal from Il-Son Choe at 21 minutes, The two-time world champions showed soccer superiority throughout the entire match.
A poor throw-in by Savy King led to a quick North Korean reaction. The American defense left an open space that was taken advantage of by Song-Ok Kim who sent a pass into the area for Il-Son Choe to open the scoring.
The North Americans were unable to recover from the blow.
The United States showed defensive shortcomings, especially in the counterattacks of the North Koreans, who reached the rival area with ease and speed.
Goalkeeper Teagan Wy saved her team on several occasions from situations that could have extended North Korea’s lead.
North Korea is considered one of the best U-20 women’s teams. She was champion in the World Cups in Russia-2006 and Papua New Guinea-2016 and in Chile-2008 she was runner-up after losing the final against the United States.
The Japanese, for their part, are looking for their second title. In 2018 they were champions by beating Spain 3-1 in the final of the tournament played in Francia, while in 2022 they were runners-up after losing to La Roja.
The match for third place will be played by the United States and the Netherlands on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. local (9:00 p.m. GMT) also in El CampÃn.