Japan beat Ghana to reach FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup semi-finals

Japan have ended their four-tournament wait for a place in the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup semi-finals after securing a narrow victory over Ghana in the quarter-finals.

The Japanese side delivered a disciplined performance to overcome the Black Maidens, ending a frustrating run of four consecutive quarter-final exits at the tournament's last-eight stage.

After a closely contested first half, Japan broke the deadlock in the 54th minute through Nanami Kurita.

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She reacted quickest after Yuka Kishida's effort took a deflection and fell into her path inside the penalty area, allowing her to finish from close range.

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Japan maintained their attacking pressure after taking the lead and successfully protected their advantage until the final whistle.

Ghana struggled to create clear-cut scoring opportunities and could not find a breakthrough against Japan's organized defense.

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The victory sends Japan into the semi-finals for the first time since their previous appearance at that stage, renewing hopes of another successful campaign.

Japan, who won the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in 2014 and finished runners-up in 2016, will now face defending champions DPR Korea in an all-Asian semi-final clash.

The upcoming encounter promises to be a major test for Japan as they pursue another opportunity to compete for the world title.