Australia–Japan football rivalry
The Australia–Japan football rivalry is a sports rivalry that exists between the national association football teams of each country, regarded as one of Asia's biggest football rivalries. The rivalry is a relatively recent one, born from a number of highly competitive matches between the two teams since Australia joined the Asian Football Confederation in 2006. The two teams have played each other in several significant matches, including a World Cup group stage match and the 2011 Asian Cup Final.
Japan women's national football team
The team were champions in the 2008 and 2010 EAFF Women's Football Championships, and won the gold medal in the 2010 Asian Games. Japan defeated the United States in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, thus claiming their first FIFA Women's World Cup title, becoming the first Asian team to do so and only the fourth women's world champions. It won silver medals at the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, making it the only Asian team to have three combined medals from international championships. They also won the gold medal at the 2014 AFC Women's Asian Cup. The team most recently won the 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup and the 2018 Asian Games.