Qatar’s Olympic dream ends as Japan takes the AFC U23 Asian Cup quarter-final win with an impressive 4-2 victory.
During Thursday’s quarter-final showdown at Doha’s Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Qatar’s Under-23s proved no match for the AFC U-23’s 2016 champions.
From the start of the match, Japan dominated with possessions with midfielder, Fuki Yamada quickly edging his team to the lead at the two-minute mark.
Then 24 minutes later, Qatar responded with striker, Ahmed Al Rawi securing the ball at the back of Japan’s net with an assist from defender, Abdulla Al Yazidi.
Qatar’s coach, Ilídio Vale, was initially hesitant to include the striker in Thursday’s match lineup.
“He’s currently recovering from an injury so I’m only going to have him join the game if he is 100 percent ready for it,” the Portuguese coach had said on Wednesday.
Qatari goalkeeper Yousef Abdulrahman Baliadeh landed a red card just minutes before half time with Ali Nader Mahmoud Karim swiftly replacing him.
With no additional goals, the first half ended with a level playing field of 1-1.
Winning streak ends
The junior Maroons kicked off the second half strongly, with Jassem Gaber Abdulsallam edging team Qatar to the lead. With an assist from Moustafa Tarek Mashal, Qatar moved on to a 2-1 lead.
Attempt after attempt, Japan initially couldn’t get the ball past Ali Nader Mahmoud Karim.
However, in the 67th minute, the Japanese lead was reinstated with a successful header straight into the goal from Seiji Kimura and an assist from Rihito Yamamoto.
After several substitutions, the game went into a nail-biting extra-time kick-off.
The sleek Samurais then slid an additional goal against Qatar in the 101st minute. Japan’s Mao Hosoya’s goal, assisted by Ryotaro Araki, placed the Blues in a comfortable lead against the home favourite.
On the pitch’s sidelines, Al Annabi’s coach could be seen frustrated and shaking his head in despair.
The Samurais then struck again with a goal from Japanese striker Kotaro Uchino.
Unable to dodge Japan’s impressive control, team Qatar’s winning streak ended after the whistle blew at 122 minutes.
