Conceded 8 goals in 5 games, Japan was out of the game in shame, and the 300 million euro Hao team overturned and found the number one sinner
A pinnacle battle in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup, Iran and Japan. Iran is ranked No. 2 in Asia and has won the Asian Cup three times, but it was a long time ago. However, Iran remain one of the favourites. In the group stage, Iran performed very well, winning all three matches and advancing as the first in the group stage. In the 1/8 finals, Iran met the big dark horse Syria, and Iran, which had the advantage on the field, passed through a penalty shootout. This time in the quarterfinals, Iran faced Japan, a super strong team. As a result, Iran performed a miracle by eliminating the strong Japanese team and advancing to the last four.
Iran discharged 4231 formations. Azmoun is at the front. The attacking duo of Jahanbakhsh, Gudos and Mohebi came together. Ibrahimi and Ezatolahi were paired in the back two. Rezayan, Kanaani, Halizadeh and Mohammed started the game in the back four. Berranvand was the starting goalkeeper. Iran's starting lineup is worth only 22.92 million euros. The total value of the starting lineup of the Japanese team is as high as 190 million euros.
Japan got off to a smooth start, with Hidemasa Morita scoring the door against Iran in the 28th minute. After that, Iran continued to launch offensives, and opportunities kept appearing. But it wasn't until the 55th minute that Iran equalised. Mohebi scored with a low shot. After that, Azmoun's goal was blown away. I thought it would be overtime, but I didn't expect Itakura to make a fatal mistake in stoppage time and foul the point. Naturally, Jahanbakhsh did not waste such a good opportunity, and he scored from the penalty spot to complete the stunner! The final score was fixed at 2-1, and Iran eliminated Japan to advance to the last four.
Japan's defense in this Asian Cup has been terrible, conceding goals in all five games, conceding a total of eight goals. The defense was so poor, and Moriyasu needs to be held accountable for it. Of course, many of those goals conceded were caused by mistakes by goalkeeper Ayaki Suzuki. However, Mori Boichi always trusted him and did not change the goalkeeper, which is a little puzzling. Although the two goals conceded in this match against Iran are not directly related to Suzuki Ayakon, he still does not deserve a team like Japan.
There is no doubt that the number one culprit in the Japanese team's exit was Itakura Tsukashi, who was so reckless in giving away a penalty in stoppage time, which was incredible! Iran's high-altitude ball worked, and it bombed Japan a little confused. Mori made four substitutions in this game, but none of the substitutions made a difference. Mori Bao overturned the aircraft carrier, and the 300 million euro array overturned. Will Mori be fired?