Japan booked their place in the quarter-finals of the AFC U-23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 on Friday as Go Oiwa’s side handed the United Arab Emirates a 2-0 defeat at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium to guarantee themselves a top two finish in Group B.
Goals from Seiji Kimura and Sota Kawasaki kept the 2016 champions perfect after their opening two games and they will face off against Korea Republic on Monday to determine who takes top spot in the standings. The result also means the UAE, who face China in their next game, cannot progress to the knockout rounds.
Oiwa’s side prevailed despite the coach making seven changes to the side that defeated the Chinese on Tuesday with one of those call-ups, Kimura, heading wide of the target eight minutes into the game.
Hiroki Sekine’s left-footed drive in the 13th minute flew across the face of Khalid Tawhid’s goal while eight minutes later the Emirati goalkeeper was left flapping when Ayumu Ohata set up Ryotaro Araki to strike at goal, the ball thumping against the crossbar.
The Japanese were edging closer and in the 26th minute Tawhid was called into action to tip Kein Sato’s diving header over the bar after the Werder Bremen midfielder had been found by Rihito Yamamoto’s arcing ball into the area.
UAE’s resistance was to last less than a minute more as, from the resulting corner, Japan took the lead. Fuki Yamada overhit his set-piece but, after picking up the loose ball, Yamamoto lifted his centre towards Kimura and he headed home via the inside of the post. Japan pressed for a second, with Sekine heading wide and Tawhid moving sharply across his goal line to push Yamada’s curling top corner-bound free-kick to safety.
Leo Kokubo was called into action in the Japan goal two minutes before the break when he dropped to his left to keep out Abdulla Abbas’ low shot on the run while, deep into injury time, the winger steered a close range header wide. Those were rare sights of goal for the UAE, however, with Sato and Araki both squandering opportunities while Ohata had a second for Japan ruled out for offside when referee Sadullo Gulmurodi consulted the pitch side monitor just after the hour mark.
By the 65th minute, though, Oiwa’s side had doubled their lead when Kawasaki glanced his header into the far corner, steering the ball home after Ohata’s first-time cross from the left bye-line. Kuryu Matsuki should have added a third inside the final five minutes but could only find Tawhid’s hands after being put in on goal by fellow substitute Mao Hosoya. Kaito Suzuki then headed against the crossbar and Sato shot high over the target as time ticked down, although it mattered little as Japan claimed all three points.
Meanwhile, South Korea booked their spot in the knockout stage after a 2-0 win against China at the Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium. Lee Young-jun, who netted the sole strike in their opening win against the UAE, came up with the goods again for South Korea by grabbing both goals in the Group B encounter.
It was a lesson in ruthlessness from South Korea, who had only three shots on target and scored two, with their clash against Japan on Monday to decide the group winners.
Later, Saudi Arabia produced a dominant performance to beat Thailand 5-0 in the Group C tie at Khalifa International Stadium as they edged closer to a place in the quarter-finals. Aiman Yahya, who grabbed a brace against Tajikistan in their opening game, scored once and assisted two with Abdullah Radif hitting a hat-trick as the 2022 champions made it two wins out of two with Iraq up next for them on Monday.
Meanwhile, Iraq revived their knockout stage hopes with a 4-2 win over Tajikistan at the Al Janoub Stadium. The 2013 champions dominated from the start and now need a win over Group C leaders Saudi Arabia on Monday to stand a chance of advancing into the quarter-finals, having lost their opening match to Thailand.