One of the prime reasons Hamilton’s Group C matches have been so entertaining in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup has been the general edge attackers have enjoyed over defenders.
While Group C is unavoidably destined to be the "Group of Death for either France or USA this week, it has been anything but the "Group of Dearth" in the two rounds so far.
The four games to date have produced 25 goals, with the only surprise being that the total hasn’t been even higher, so dominant have the strikers and wingers been in crafting meaningful attacks on goal.
In that respect it has helped that Japan have played with a real swagger, and arguably emerged as the most exciting team in the tournament.
With two rounds of matches complete, Japan have six points and 10 goals to their credit, despite having played two of the more fancied contenders in USA and France.
If their 3-2 win over USA was enthralling, the subsequent 7-1 demolition of France was as close to perfect as you could expect from teenage female footballers. They made France – 6-2 winners over Paraguay three days earlier — look like novices.
French coach Gerard Sergent used terms such as "scientific" and ‘synchronised" to suggest three or four of the Japanese players — most notably Mana Iwabuchi and Chinatsu Kira — were operating at a level well beyond his own charges.
There is certainly a magnetic quality to Japan’s play, with slide rule passes, creative interplay, inventive flicks, and telepathic understanding. When they push forward — which is extremely often – they are irresistible.
But above that, there is also an obvious joyfulness to their play. Kira summed it up when she admitted she enjoyed playing with Iwabuchi and the pair have a lot of fun when they are on the field together. "We think the same and are on the same wavelength."
However at the other end of the park Japan are less convincing.
The most glaring weakness has been in the goalkeeping department, where first choice custodian Saki Nakamura has looked extremely vulnerable.
With the talent they have displayed in Hamilton, this is shaping as Japan’s best chance to win a FIFA tournament. But the unanswered question is: can a team win at this level with a goalkeeping weakness?
Japan have managed it so far, mainly by keeping the ball up the other end of the park, though coach Hiroshi Yoshida has indicated he will give one of his other keepers a run in Christchurch.
Meanwhile USA coach Kaz Tambi, who found out just how good Japan were a few days earlier, said the tournament was a trip into unchartered waters for players and coaches.
"I have no idea where we are compared to the rest of the pack," he said after the come-from-behind win over Paraguay.
"We just take it game by game. Everybody will have a better idea of what the height of the U-17 age bracket looks like at the end of it.
"It will be a tremendous tool for us in terms of assessing our game in our country and basically learning the lessons of the world cup and taking back home the insights that we gain here so we know what to work on with out own kids.
He described the tournament as a learning process.
"I think after the experience is over we will be able to sit back and really see where the game of soccer is going around the world with this age group."