Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Chofu: Japan eased past Uzbekistan 5-1 on Tuesday to make it two friendly wins out of two for new coach Vahid Halilhodzic.
Having seen his side beat Tunisia 2-0 on Friday, Halilhodzic watched on as the Samurai Blue continued their upturn on form since a disappointing exit at January’s AFC Asian Cup where, like Uzbekistan, they exited at the quarter-final stage.
Toshihiro Aoyama bagged his first international goal – a clinical finish from distance - to set Japan on their way as early as the seventh minute.
The 2011 Asian champions upped the tempo after the break and duly doubled their advantage on 54 minutes when Shinji Okazaki, who was also on target against Tunisia, headed home Japan’s second.
Gaku Shibasaki made it 3-0 after 79 minutes, before Islom Tuhtahujaev gave Uzbekistan a glimmer of hope by reducing the deficit just three minutes just later.
However, further goals from Takashi Usami and Kengo Kawamata saw Japan claim a comprehensive victory to continue the mini revival under Halilhodzic.
Both Japan and Uzbekistan will find out their opponents for the second phase of the joint 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup 2019 qualifiers at a draw in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on April 14.
Photo: AFP