Japan wins the Women’s Asian Cup, beating Australia 1-0 on Hamano’s early strike

SYDNEY (AP) — Maika Hamano took a pass from the left with her back to goal, turned and launched a powerful strike from outside the area in a moment of individual brilliance that secured Japan a third Women’s Asian Cup final with a 1-0 win over Australia.

The 21-year-old Hamano, on loan at Tottenham from Chelsea, scored in the 17th minute to almost silence the crowd of 74,397 at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on Saturday night.

The Australians applied all the pressure in the last 10 minutes...