Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Tehran: Japan secured their place in the quarter-finals with a 3-0 victory over defending champions DPR Korea at the PAS Stadium as the curtain came down on the group phase of the 2012 AFC U-16 Championship on Thursday.
Fumiya Nakamura opened the scoring with 14 minutes played before a well-taken Taro Sugimoto strike extended Japan's advantage four minutes into the second-half.
Keeper Mizuki Hayashi preserved his side's two-goal cushion when he superbly saved Jon Kum-song's 52nd minute penalty before second-half substitute Hiroki Ogawa sealed the win with nine minutes remaining as Japan joined Korea Republic in the quarter-finals at the expense of the 2010 AFC U-16 Championship winners.
DPR Korea coach Paek Kil-song more-or-less kept faith with the side that defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 in their previous fixture, with Jon Se-gye coming in for Choe Ju-song in midfield, while his Japanese counterpart Yoshitake Hirofumi named a vastly changed line up from their last match against Korea Republic, with only Ryoma Ishida, Tokuma Suzuki, Takuma Mizutani and skipper Kazuya Miyahara keeping their place in the starting 11.
With both sides having defeated Saudi Arabia and lost to group leaders Korea Republic, Thursday's clash at the PAS Stadium would determine who joins the South Koreans in the last eight, with Japan going into the match in second-place above DPR Korea on goal difference.
DPR Korea coach Paek Kil-song more-or-less kept faith with the side that defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 in their previous fixture, with Jon Se-gye coming in for Choe Ju-song in midfield, while his Japanese counterpart Yoshitake Hirofumi named a vastly changed line up from their last match against Korea Republic, with only Ryoma Ishida, Tokuma Suzuki, Takuma Mizutani and skipper Kazuya Miyahara keeping their place in the starting 11.
And it was Japan that took the initiative when Fumiya Nakamura flicked the ball past Kim Yu-il with 14 minutes of the crucial Group C fixture played before Nakamura almost doubled Japan's lead two minutes later but Korean keeper Kim raced off his goal-line to block bravely at the feet of the livewire Japanese forward.
Japan were dominating the match but 36th minute mistake by Rikiya Motegi gifted a shooting opportunity to Kim Song-min only for the DPR Korea forward's low effort to be comfortably saved by Mizuki Hayashi in the Japan goal.
Japan should have had a healthier advantage to take in to the second-half but two minutes from the interval Nakamura, who had been booked moments earlier for simulation , scuffed his shot after being played into space by Taro Sugimoto.
Sugimoto doubled Japan's advantage four minutes after the restart with a superbly-struck effort from the left side of the DPR Korea penalty box which flew past Kim and nestled in the corner of the net.
DPR Korea had the chance to reduce the deficit soon after when a foul on defender Ro Jong-hyok was fouled inside the penalty area but Hayashi guessed the right way and superbly saved Jon Kum-song's 52nd minute spot-kick low to his left.
The defending champions had no answer to Japan's pacey attack and solid organisation at the back and as the clock ticked down it was the Japanese that were looking the most likely side to score.
And they did just that with nine minutes remaining when second-half substitute Hiroki Ogawa, who replaced Hiroaki Aoyama in the 56th minute, shrugged off the attention of Ro Jong-hyok to score Japan's third from close range as Japan finished second in the standings behind Korea Republic, who topped the table with a 100% record following their 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia.