Four-time champions Japan defeated Bahrain 3-1 in Doha to advance to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup.
Samurai Blue will face Iran in the last eight. Iran survived even with 10 men down, defeating Syria 5-3 in a penalty shootout late Wednesday that ended 1-1 after extra time.
Goals from Ritsu Doan, Takefusa Kubo and Ayyo Ueda ensured Japan, one of the favorites to win the tournament, a comfortable lead at Al Thumama Stadium.
Bahrain coach Juan Anotnio Pizzi was hoping to heal old wounds after his Saudi Arabian team lost to Japan in the same stage in 2019, but Hajime Moriyasu’s team put in a dominant performance and won the Gulf Cup. He hardly seemed to suffer when dealing with other countries.
In the 31st minute, Japan’s Maikuma Seiya fired a powerful shot that hit the post, but midfielder Doan was alert to the rebound and pounced on it, scoring a goal from close range.
Immediately after halftime, Japan took a 2-0 lead as an unmarked Kubo received the ball in the penalty area, turned the ball around and fired a shot, and the goal was ruled offside by a VAR check, leading to a 2-0 lead. did.
Bahrain cut the deficit in half from a corner kick when Japan’s keeper Zion Suzuki saved a header from Saeed Baker, but when the ball looped up in the air, Ueda tried to catch it, but Ueda headed it in. In an attempt to clear, the two collided as the ball crossed the line.
However, Ueda made up for it with an own goal, quickly evading three Bahraini defenders to make it 3-1. As they tried to pull his shirt to stop his fling, the striker pulled the trigger from an angle and beat the keeper.
In the second half of the round of 16 match, Syria’s Fahad Youssef had his penalty saved by goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand in the penalty shootout, while Iran converted all of their spot kicks, with captain Ehsan Hadjisafi scoring the decisive shot. I decided.
Iran was one of the three teams to finish the group stage with the most points, and Syria, playing for the first time in the knockout stage, did a good job of containing Iran until they conceded a penalty to their Middle Eastern opponents in the first half.
Ayham Osou deliberately ran into Mehdi Taremi without trying to get the ball, and the Iranian striker stepped forward to take the penalty and fired a spot-kick into the bottom right corner for his third goal of the tournament. became.
However, Syria equalized with Pablo Sabbag coming on as a substitute, beat the offside trap and immediately earned a penalty after being fouled by Beiranvand, which Omar Krivin calmly converted to make it 1-1.
Things got even worse for Iran when Taremi was sent off for a second yellow card. Taremi, who had been booked for simulation beforehand, earned another booking for a foul on Alaa al-Dali, reducing Iran’s numbers to 10 men in the final minutes and overtime.
However, Iran managed to hold on despite the pressure and take the match to penalties, extending coach Amir Galenoei’s unbeaten run to 15 matches since taking charge of Team Melli last March.
Asia Cup semi-final lineup:
Friday, February 2nd
Tajikistan v Jordan (Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium)
Australia vs South Korea (Al Janoub Stadium)
Saturday, February 3rd
Iran vs. Japan (Education City Stadium)
Qatar v Uzbekistan (Al Bayt Stadium)