Ghana’s Black Queens suffered a humbling defeat to Japan at the Kanazawa Go Go Curry Stadium on Saturday.
The hosts were superior on all fronts against Nora Hauptle’s side and scored four goals at the end of 90 minutes to show their supremacy.
Ghana enjoyed a good start to the game and maintained their composure for the opening 20 minutes.
However, the captain of the side, Portia Boakye, was sent off for a professional last-defender tackle, reducing her side to 10 players.
Despite the red card, the Black Queens held their nerves and managed to keep the scoreline at 0-0 at the end of the first half.
Seven minutes after the break, Japan took the lead. Tanaka Mina opened the scoring after being played through on goal.
Chelsea youngster Maika Hamano scored the second after being left loose at the far post from a set piece. Aoba Fujino and Riko Ueki added the third and fourth respectively, wrapping up a move for the Olympics-bound side.
Hauptle will hope the game provides a new learning curve for her side in their rebuilding process.