This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website.
Yoshimi Yamashita made history as the first Japanese female referee to work in a FIFA World Cup match on Wednesday night, November 23.
The Belgium-Canada Group F match kicked off at 4 AM JST on Thursday.
Yamashita worked as the fourth official along with referee Janny Sikazwe and assistant referees Jerson Dos Santos and Arsenio Maringule at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.
Belgium won the match 1-0 in Al Rayyan, Qatar.
In October, Yamashita said she embraced the opportunity to work at the World Cup.
"I'm happy that I'm in a position capable of assuming responsibility as the first female referee," Yamashita was quoted as saying by The Mainichi Shimbun. "Rather than feeling pressure, I'd like to make the best of this to raise my motivation."
Read the full story on SportsLook.
Author: Ed Odeven
Follow Ed on JAPAN Forward's [Japan Sports Notebook] here on Sundays, in [Odds and Evens] here during the week, and Twitter ＠ed_odeven, and find him on JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website, SportsLook.
