In the quarterfinals of the U23 Asian Cup on April 25, Beijing time, Qatar hosted Japan. Kaede Yamada blitzed, Ahmed made a contribution, Jashim and Kimura Seiji exchanged headers, in overtime Hosoya Shindai and Uchino Kotaro slashed twice in a row, Japan 4-2 Qatar, advanced to the semifinals for two consecutive years, and the Olympic quota was basically in hand. Japan's opponent in the semifinals will be the winner between Iraq and Vietnam.
The host Qatar is in great form, winning three consecutive victories in the group stage to win the first place in the group and successfully qualify. Japan had many twists and turns in the group stage, winning a small victory in the first game against China but paying the price of a red card, and just regaining form in the second game against the United Arab Emirates, and losing the top spot in the group by South Korea in the final round, facing the hosts who were not easy to mess with.
Japan's preemptive high-intensity pressing forced Qatar to make a fatal mistake, only 1 minute 05 seconds into the opening game, the Qatari full-back was caught by a number of people and two people made a passing error, and Kaede Yamada cut inside to score a dream start. Japan had the upper hand on the ball, and Qatar had difficulty getting the ball for a while, and there was no hope of threatening the attack, so they could only retreat to the half court to limit the opponent's ball.
In the face of Qatar's low defense, Japan fell into a tough battle, and the penetration of short passes was not effective, and they strengthened their individual dribbling to try to create set-piece opportunities. Kaede Yamada's free-kick hit the wall and bounced off the wall, and the head of the head of Hosoya's big corner kick was deflected. Japan has the advantage of the scene, but there are also hidden dangers, and the defense line is too far forward to give the opponent space to counterattack and hit behind.
Qatar made their first threatening attack in the 23rd minute, when Abdullah sent a precise pass from the right wing of Zone 3, and the 19-year-old Ahmed equalized with a header from a low header in front of the small penalty area. Japan's air defense capability is insufficient, and fullback Sekine Daiki can't defend the opponent's center forward one-on-one.
The two sides fell into a fierce confrontation, consuming a lot of time in the midfield battle, and at the end of the half, the Japanese offensive resumed, and in the 37th minute, Masayi Matsuki resisted the opponent in the penalty area and turned and knocked a wonderful pass, but Hosoya Shindai outflanked the empty goal. Then Japan attacked again with a long pass, Qatari goalkeeper Youssef rushed out of the penalty area and stepped on Hosotani Mada's header to clear the ball, and was sent off with a red card after the referee reviewed VAR. No. 17 took a free kick and bounced off the wall. Qatar, with one man less, fell into a passive defensive phase, at one point setting up a 7-2-0 formation at the back to limit Japan's passes on both wings.
Qatar returned to the second half to make a foul, and in the 48th minute, Mustafa set piece made a 45-degree long pass to the penalty area, and Jashim nodded after the goal, and it was unbelievable that 10-man Qatar overtook the score. This time, Japan's air defense was weak again, and Shota Fujio and Rihito Yamamoto couldn't defend each other when they competed for the top.
Japan continued to press and break through on the flanks to achieve results, Yamada Kaede Kaede knocked the bottom line on the right side of the triangle, and Yuki Takai, who was unmarked in the middle, had a chance to score a goal. Qatar also had a chance to counter-attack, with one man on the line of the Ahmed penalty area taking over the opponent and two turning and volleying just wide.
Japan dominated the situation on the pitch and created a number of set-piece opportunities. In the 67th minute, Rihito Yamamoto crossed from a corner, and central defender Seiji Kimura grabbed the first place and nodded the ball in to tie the score at 2-2. Japan's front court besieged, and Shota Fujio missed two great chances in the penalty area. In the final stage, Japan frantically besieged, and in the 91st minute, Japan's long set-piece almost caused the Qatari goalkeeper to make a mistake to send an own assist, and Shota Fujio slid out of the goal line. Qatar drew 2-2 with Japan in 10-man normal time.
In the 100th minute of extra time, Ryotaro Araki broke through the defense with a subtle ball in the front, and Shinda Hosotani stopped the ball in the penalty area and pushed through the crotch to score. Kotaro Uchino scored in the 112th minute to seal the win. At the end of the game, Japan 4-2 Qatar entered the semifinals.
With 3.5 places to qualify for the Olympic Games, the top three will directly qualify for the Olympic Games, and the fourth place will compete with Guinea for the last place in the play-offs, so it can be said that there is no suspense that Japan will qualify for the Paris Olympics.
In the other knockout match that followed, South Korea played Indonesia. With excellent tactical execution and efficient counter-attacking tactics, the dark horse Indonesia successfully suppressed South Korea's offensive, and the team's top scorer Strook scored two goals in the first half, and South Korea's own goal once equalized. Indonesia's continued pressure in the second half led to a red card for South Korean striker Lee Young-jun, but the tenacious South Koreans relied on a counter-attack to pull a goal back in the closing stages.
In the 30-minute extra time, South Korea was still suppressed, and Indonesia had many chances but did not take them. In overtime, both teams scored frequent penalty shots, both teams missed penalties in the 6th round, South Korea's penalty shot was saved in the 12th round, Indonesia scored, and finally Indonesia won 11-10 on penalties, and the total score was 13-12 to send South Korea out. Indonesia has at least 0.5 quota places for the Olympics and has one foot in the Games. South Korea, on the other hand, not only missed the semifinals of the Asian Cup after being eliminated, but also ended the Asian record of qualifying for the Olympics for 9 consecutive times.