Japan's offense was masterful, but there were bright spots for China.
August 14, 2025 by Manny Eckert in Analysis, Recap
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A 13-8 scoreline is not necessarily indicative of a blowout, but this one was. China came out messy and their defense lacked the resistance to stop the skilled Japanese attack. Reset errors and rushed decisions put China behind, and miscues would continue to abound for them in the first half and early on in the second as they fell to a 8-2 deficit. Here are some key takeaways from Japan’s confident — and very necessary for their medal hopes — day two victory.
Japan Blends Power and Touch
Japan, on the other hand, was firing on all cylinders. With only three total turnovers throughout the game, they had no trouble converting China’s early short-field turns into breaks. They didn’t limit themselves to small-ball, though – as soon as a big field presented itself at 4-1, Shumpei Makiyama would set Japan’s tone for the rest of the game with a massive, 70+ yard backhand rip.
Japan completed five of their six huck attempts in the game, with a combination of bombs such from Makiyama (first clip below), another from Ryota Suzuki (second), and precise midrange shots from Yuko Kashino (third), who posted over 300 throwing yards and six assists on a meager eight touches.
When Japan wasn’t hucking, they breezed through the field with surgical precision, as we can see in this possession shown below, where every single pass is thrown directly to a player’s chest. It’s hard to pick individual standouts in this game from Japan’s balanced offensive effort, but Riyu Shimuzu consistently shone through as a primary distributor and possibly one of the premier handlers at this tournament.
China Learns Lessons from Disorganized First Half
China’s offense struggled mightily as their players frequently appeared to be on different pages. There were back to back instances of multiple Chinese players attacking the same space, before we see a miscommunication on a simple reset.
China may have had a disastrous first half, but there were significant indications of improvement as they played Japan evenly in the second. Compare the stagnation of this possession in the first half, where they bounce the disc around for a while without finding any flow before tossing up a 50/50 ball to their big man (more on Yingyi Xu soon!) to their offense on their one break of the game.
In the second half, after a great poach block by Quan Mao, although they’re still not finding consecutive high-reward passes in the same way as the more prolific teams at this tournament, they’re able to translate swings into vertical yards until they find an over the top to Yingyi Xu with separation in the end zone.
Xu was China’s primary bright spot in this game, and if the team is going to be successful, they’ll have to utilize his presence as a deep threat as much as possible. His statistical output of two goals and two turnovers don’t accurately represent his impact on the game. Besides the floaty forehand catch that we just saw, he continually bailed out China’s offense such as on this speculative around huck.
And there was this chasedown where he starts well behind the defender. Any team wanting to succeed at the World Games must play to their superpowers, and for China, Xu is one of them.
A Physical Game
None of the points in this game felt like a grind from the perspective of number of turnovers or total passes completed, but frequent stoppages from disagreements on travels, picks, and physical contact on the mark or in the reset space, which was often initiated by Japan, slowed the pace of the game down. The Chinese handlers work best at a brisk pace, but frequently their upline cuts were met with Japanese bodies; not necessarily illegal, but meriting conversation about who needed to concede space. Everything appeared to be resolved amicably, but it’s worth noting to see if disputes on physicality continue for either team in future games.
Paths to Success
Each team in their next game will face one of the current favorites to win the tournament: China will play the US, and Japan will face Germany. Unfortunately for China, their fate is sealed as the bottom finisher in the pool – but their game against the US is still an opportunity to assert themselves as a team that belongs at this tournament and excite what has been a raucous home crowd. Can China find some semblance of offensive flow on the biggest stage in ultimate against a highly-touted US defense and set themselves up for success in future international competition? For Japan, their bracket hopes lie in this game. Will they catch fire again in the deep space or will Germany be able to match their speed and throwing talent?
