Japan’s U-23 national soccer team, which lost to Hwang Sun-hong, was recorded as the final winner.
Japan beat Uzbekistan 1-0 in the final match of the 2024 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Asian Cup held at the Jasim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Thursday (Korea time). Japan regained the top spot for the first time in eight years with its second win in the tournament.
This year’s event was also the Asian qualifying round for the Paris Olympics in July. The tickets for the finals, which were given to the top three countries, were taken by Japan, Uzbekistan, and Iraq. Coach Shin Tae-yong’s Indonesia, which ranked fourth, headed for an intercontinental playoff. On the 9th, he will play a single match against Guinea, which ranked fourth in the African qualifying round, in Paris to seek to advance to the Olympics.
Japan was defeated by Hwang Sun-hong in the group league. It was not easy to meet Qatar as the host country early as the second-ranked team in the group, but it overcame the hurdle after extra-time play. Japan beat Iraq 2-0 in the semifinal, and successfully secured Uzbekistan, the strongest candidate, in the final.
Japan struggled somewhat against Uzbekistan, which had a strong physical presence. In the 28th minute of the first half, the opponent missed the golden opportunity to make a mistake in the rear build-up and finished the first half without scoring a goal.
In the second half, while Uzbekistan was on the offensive, Japan saw an opportunity through counterattacks. As the attack did not go well, he put in Huki Yamada in the 26th minute of the second half to seek a change. Uzbekistan also sought to score in an atmosphere led by actively utilizing the replacement card.
Both teams failed to score goals in the regular time of the first half and the second half. They were given 11 minutes of extra time in the second half, and their joys and sorrows were divided at the last minute. Japan shook Uzbekistan’s defense with an organic pass play at the gate within a minute of extra time. Yamada, who entered as a substitute, finished with his left foot and scored a dramatic first goal.
Japan also faced the biggest crisis. A handball foul gave up a penalty kick to Uzbekistan in the fifth minute of extra time. It was close to losing the lead, which it had difficulty catching, but the goalkeeper blocked the opponent team’s shot, and the team achieved a dramatic 1-0 win.
Japan, which is participating in the Paris Olympics as an Asian champion, is also in a smooth process of organizing its finals. FIFA held a draw last month without holding an Asian qualifying round. As the No. 1 player in Asia has been decided to belong to Group D of the Olympic finals, Japan will play with Paraguay, Mali and Israel in its group league. 토토사이트
Japan, which is aiming to win its first men’s soccer medal in 56 years, sees Go Itakura (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Ahnall), Hiroki Ito (Stuttgart), and Goki Machida (Loyal Winion Saint-Gilouaz) as wild card candidates. In addition, the Japanese government plans to mobilize Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad), who has a strong will to participate in the Olympics.