On February 17, Beijing time, in a match in Group D of the U20 Asian Cup group stage, the Japanese national youth broke out a big upset, and finally drew 2-2 with the Syrian national youth, missing 2 consecutive wins, but sent a super gift to the South Korean national youth, who defeated the Thai national youth to qualify one round in advance, and finally South Korea won 4-1.
In Asian football, Japan has the most players to choose from, and the squad for this competition lacks many foreign players, but it is still strong and is listed as one of the favorites to win the championship. In the past Asian Youth Championships, Japan only won one championship in 2016, which is obviously inconsistent with the identity of the Asian super team.
In the first round of the group stage, Japan easily defeated Thailand 3-0, and relied on goal difference to beat South Korea to temporarily top the group, and the goal of facing Syria in the second round also won a big victory.
As a result, less than 10 minutes into the opening game, Japan's goal was broken by Syria, and the scene was also a little embarrassing.
In the 9th minute, Syria counter-attacked from the left and sent a through stopper, and Mustafa inserted into the box and scored with a low shot to help Syria get off to a dream start 1-0, which was also the first goal conceded by Japan in this tournament.
After falling behind, Japan began to intensify their attack. In the 24th minute, Japan picked up a pass in the penalty area, and Tomosho Oseki scored with a low volley, and the score was equalized 1-1, and the two sides returned to a starting line.
In the 33rd minute, Japan conceded again, Abdi took a free kick and hit the crossbar and bounced, and then Sophie followed up with a blast to help Syria take a 2-1 lead again.
According to statistics, Japan had 69% possession, while 9 shots on goal 4 were on target, only 1 goal was scored, and Syria had 3 shots on goal and 2 on target under the passive situation, all of which were converted into goals, which was very efficient.
In the second half, Japan fought back frantically, organizing several offensives to threaten Syria's goal. In the 61st minute, Ichihara jumped high and hit the goal with a header, but Taizheng was confiscated by the goalkeeper. In the 73rd minute, Kanda Soma's low shot from inside the penalty area was blocked by the goalkeeper. In the 85th minute, Kanda Soma assisted Takaoka Lingsa to score a low shot to help Japan equalize 2-2 again.
In the end, the two sides drew 2-2, Japan missed the second consecutive victory, Syria won one point, and the biggest winner was South Korea.
Japan has 4 points in 2 rounds, so that South Korea can qualify for one round in advance as long as it defeats Thailand in this round, and then 2 consecutive wins will accumulate 6 points and lock the top two in the group in advance. In the end, when South Korea fell behind 0-1, they scored 4 goals in a row to complete the reversal and advanced to the quarterfinals in advance.