23 December 2002 - Sometimes, Past Performance Is Indicative Of Future Success

On 23 December 2002, having already beaten the Philippines by 12 goals to set a national team record, Indonesia did it again.

Indonesia had dominated the series since the teams' first meeting in 1958, including a crushing 12-0 victory in in 1972 that set the record for their biggest winning margin. Then, in 2002, they met in the group stage of the Tiger Cup. It was the last match of Group A, with the Philippines already eliminated and Indonesia needing a win to claim the last semifinal spot.

Playing at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, the hosts went ahead in just the first minute with a goal from striker Bambang Pamungkas (pictured). By halftime, both he and fellow striker Zaenal Arif had hat-tricks and Indonesia were up 7-0 (the other goal was scored by Budi Sudarsono).

The goals continued to pile up in the second half, with Bambang and Zaenal both extending their totals to four each, while Sugiantoro and Imran Nahumarury scored as well. The Philippines finally got a goal from striker Ali Go in the 78th minute, but gave one back with an own goal from Solomon Licuanan ten minutes later to set the final scoreline at 13-1.

Indonesia advanced and eventually reached the final where they lost to Thailand on penalties.

6 December 1993 - Sawa Starts To Soar

On 6 December 1993, Homare Sawa earned her first cap for Japan. 

She was only 15 years old at the time, but had been playing professionally for three years with L. League team Yomiura Beleza, where her performances led to her being named to the league's Best XI for 1993 and a national team call-up the same year.

That first match was against the Philippines in the 1993 AFC Women's Championship. After missing Japan's opener, a 6-1 win over Chinese Taipei, Sawa delivered against the Philippines, scoring four goals in the 15-0 victory. They then went on to win their next match over Hong Kong, but were eliminated by China in the semifinals.

In 2011, she captained the team to the World Cup title, then followed that by winning that year's Ballon d'Or. By the time she retired in 2015, she set the team records for appearances (205) and goals (83). 

27 September 1967 - Domo Arigato, Kunishige Kamamoto

On 27 September 1967, Japan opened their Olympic qualification campaign with a record 15-0 win over the Philippines.

Japan had advanced farther than any other Asian team at the 1964 tournament, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to eventual runners-up Czechoslovakia, and were expected to reach the 1968 competition with little difficulty. But few could have expected just how easy their first qualifier would be.

Playing against the Philippines in Tokyo, Japan took the lead with a 4th-minute goal from Ryuichi Sugiyama and never looked back. Their most prolific scorer of the day was 23-year old Yanmar Diesel striker Kunishige Kamamoto (pictured), who provided six goals (15', 16', 26', 43', 64', 89'), while Teruki Miyamoto added four (20', 30', 40', 46'). The other four came from Tokutatsu Ojiro (5'), Tadashi Watanabe (63'), Sugiyama (75'), and Yasayuki Kuwahara (78'). The 15-0 scoreline remains the record margin of victory for Japan and margin of defeat for the Philippines.

The result was a sign of things to come for the Japanese, who topped their qualification group. At the Olympics in Mexico, they advanced to the bronze-medal match, where they beat the hosts 2-0. Both goals came from Kamamoto, who went on to become Japan's all-time leading scorer.

23 December 2002 - Sometimes, Past Performance Is Indicative Of Future Success

On 23 December 2002, having already beaten the Philippines by 12 goals to set a national team record, Indonesia did it again.

Indonesia had dominated the series since the teams' first meeting in 1958, including a crushing 12-0 victory in in 1972 that set the record for their biggest winning margin. Then, in 2002, they met in the group stage of the Tiger Cup. It was the last match of Group A, with the Philippines already eliminated and Indonesia needing a win to claim the last semifinal spot.

Playing at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, the hosts went ahead in just the first minute with a goal from striker Bambang Pamungkas (pictured). By halftime, both he and fellow striker Zaenal Arif had hat-tricks and Indonesia were up 7-0 (the other goal was scored by Budi Sudarsono).

The goals continued to pile up in the second half, with Bambang and Zaenal both extending their totals to four each, while Sugiantoro and Imran Nahumarury scored as well. The Philippines finally got a goal from striker Ali Go in the 78th minute, but gave one back with an own goal from Solomon Licuanan ten minutes later to set the final scoreline at 13-1.

Indonesia advanced and eventually reached the final where they lost to Thailand on penalties.

6 December 1993 - Sawa Starts To Soar

On 6 December 1993, Homare Sawa earned her first cap for Japan. She has since become the team's all-time appearances leader.

She was only 15 years old at the time, but had been playing professionally for three years with L. League team Yomiura Beleza, where her performances led to her being named to the league's Best XI for 1993 and to a national team call-up the same year.

That first match was against the Philippines in the 1993 AFC Women's Championship. After missing Japan's opener, a 6-1 win over Chinese Taipei, Sawa delivered against the Philippines, scoring four goals in the 15-0 victory. They then went on to win their next match over Hong Kong, but were eliminated by China in the semifinals.

Since then, Sawa has amassed a team-record total of 186 caps and is also their top goalscorer with 81. In 2011, she captained the team to the World Cup title, then followed that by winning that year's Ballon d'Or.