On February 3, 2023, the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup continued to be fiercely contested, and a wonderful duel was held between the powerful Japanese team and the Iranian team. In the first half, Japan took the initiative thanks to Hidemasa Morita's goal, but in the second half, Iran's Mohebi equalised. In stoppage time, Iran scored a penalty in front of Kanaani and Jahanbakhsh scored a penalty to beat the opponent, and finally the stronger Iranian team defeated Japan 2-1 to successfully advance to the semi-finals of the Asian Cup, and the Iranian team will face the winner between Qatar and Uzbekistan in the semi-finals. The Japanese team, which had the highest call to win the championship before the game, was unexpectedly defeated by Iran and stopped in the top 4.
After easily advancing to the 1/8 finals, the Japanese team was highly anticipated in this game, however, the departure of Jun Ito had a certain impact on the team. But even so, the opponent of the Japanese team in this game, the Iranian team, fought hard in the 1/8 finals to finally eliminate the Syrian team, and lost 0-3 in the last semi-final with the Japanese team.
At the start of the game, Iran threatened with a free-kick from the left in the ninth minute, but could not break the deadlock. Jahanbakhsh and Ibrahimi then had chances, but neither could get past the Japanese goalkeeper Ayaka Suzuki.
Hidemasa Morita's goal gave Japan the lead
Until the 28th minute, Hidemasa Morita showed excellent individual ability on the left flank, and by getting rid of two defenders in a row, his shot still hit the net in the face of Beiranvande's block, giving Japan the lead. At the end of the first half, Japan led 1-0.
Mohebi equalized for Iran
At the start of the second half, the Iranian team, which was behind the score, launched a fierce counterattack. Their physical advantage became more and more obvious as the game progressed, and in the 55th minute, the Iranian team took full advantage of the inaccurate characteristics of the Japanese goalkeeper Suzuki Saiyan's big kick to successfully launch a counterattack, Mohebi quickly stepped forward to meet the big foot ball of Suzuki Saiyan, shook off the opponent's two defenders, and scored from a small angle, and the score was rewritten to 1-1. Iran continued to show their toughness, but lacked the heat to finish and missed a number of great chances, including offside strikes and headers that grazed the post. The Japanese team, which does not have a physical advantage, is completely passive.
In the 96th minute, Japan defender Itakura was fouled when he cleared the siege, and Iran was awarded a penalty
Iran's Jahanbakhsh scored the penalty
At the end of the game, in the 96th minute, there was chaos in front of the Japanese team's goal, and the fast-following Iranian team Kanani was fouled and put down by the Japanese team's defender Itakura when he cleared the siege, and the Chinese referee Ma Ning did not hesitate to award the Japanese team a penalty, and the Iranian team player Jahanbakhsh took the penalty and successfully hit it and staged a stunner. Iran fought back 2-1 to advance to the semi-finals and knocked out the favourites Japan.
Saiyan Suzuki
In this game, the poor performance of Japan's mixed-race goalkeeper Sayaki Suzuki became a major factor in the team's loss. Japan have conceded six goals in their last four matches, raising questions about the young goalkeeper being reused by head coach Hoichi Moriyasu. Of course, the responsibility for Japan's loss cannot be all put on the goalkeeper, compared to the strong physical level of the West Asian team, the Japanese team seems tired to cope, and in the end, the physical exhaustion of the whole team is the key reason for the Japanese team's loss.
Iran's Jahanbakhsh pulled Ito throughout the whole process, forcing Ito to move forward by inertia and passively foul.
The match was in the spotlight, with the favourites Japan considered to be strong, but against a menacing Iranian side, the match was destined to be full of suspense. Chinese referee Ma Ning's iron-blooded refereeing style has attracted the attention of domestic netizens. The Japanese team suffered an upset loss in this game, and they can go all out to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers.
Manin game
This match is a great way to see the beauty of football, which is full of drama and passion. The favourites Japan suffered an upset defeat in this thrilling game and will need to learn from their future matches and adjust their form. The Iranian team successfully advanced to the semi-finals with its tenacious fighting spirit, winning more applause for itself. Both teams fought unreservedly to the end for the victory of the game, and the charm of competitive sports was also fully revealed, regardless of the final outcome of the game, this spirit of fighting to the end deserves respect and admiration.
Team Japan
The quarter-finals have already produced three teams to advance, with the winner between Qatar and Uzbekistan set to be the last team to advance to the last four. The Asian Cup will continue to burn and fans are looking forward to seeing more exciting moments in the upcoming competitions.
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