Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jiangyin: Japan moved a step closer to retaining the AFC U23 Championship title after Ko Itakura’s 90th minute goal gave them a 1-0 win over Thailand in their Group B clash on Saturday.
On the back of their opening day win, Japan started confidently at the Jiangyin Sports Center, while Thailand were cautious and content to rely on counter attacks.
Japan upped their tempo as the match progressed with Kyosuke Tagawa pressing down the middle, alongside Akito Takagi and Yuto Iwasaki on the right and left flanks respectively.
Thailand then began to pile on the pressure, looking to regain possession but Hajime Moriyasu’s side kept to their plan of attack, holding the ball and slowly moving into the attacking third but a goal continued to elude them.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jianyin: Ko Itakura’s 90th minute goal against Thailand gave Japan a 1-0 victory and a spot in the AFC U23 Championship China 2018 quarter-finals, a result which he credited to team effort.
Japan had the majority of possession and shots on target against Thailand but despite their dominance, they struggled to break the Thai defence.
However, their efforts were finally rewarded when Ko’s right footed shot from close range found the back of the net courtesy of Kyosuke Tagawa’s headed pass.
“As soon as it went in, I was ecstatic,” said Ko. “It was a tough match.”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jiangyin: Thailand suffered a second successive defeat in the AFC U23 Championship China 2018 after losing to Japan 1-0 on Saturday, a loss which extinguished their chances of progressing to the quarter-finals, but Supachok Sarachat believes the experience has been invaluable.
As the match went into its final minutes, Thailand were happy to settle for a draw but Ko Itakura’s 90th minute goal left no time for the young War Elephants to make a comeback and they were eliminated from contention for a place in the late-eight stage.
“I feel very sad,” said the 19-year-old. “It would have been totally different if we had secured one point from this match.
“We would still have a chance to progress by beating Palestine in our next match, but we conceded a goal to Japan in the last few minutes.”
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Jiangyin: Oday Dabbagh’s goal handed Palestine a vital lifeline in their AFC U23 Championship 2018 campaign following a 1-1 draw with DPR Korea on Saturday at the Jiangyin Sports Center.
Palestine enjoyed an early lead, thanks to Dabbagh’s first half effort, but a second half own goal from Mohammed Rashid ensured both sides shared the spoils.
In what was a crucial match for both teams, Palestine began the more spirited, pressing DPR Korea back in their half, and Mahmoud Yousef came close to opening the scoring in the ninth minute when Mohamed Darwish’s through pass found him outside the box but he shot straight into the arms of goalkeeper Kang Ju-hyok.
Seven minutes later, Elkayed Mohammed’s long range pass to Dabbagh set him up perfectly against Kang, where he made no mistake to give Palestine the lead.