Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Manama: Two-goal man Yuto Iwasaki is positive that Japan have an even better display to give at the AFC U-19 Championship Bahrain 2016 quarter-finals where they will take on Tajikistan on Monday.
Atsushi Uchiyama‘s side confirmed their progression to the knockout stages with a 3-0 win over Qatar that also knocked the defending champions out of the competition on Friday.
Iwasaki opened the scoring for Japan in the 14th minute against the Qataris, taking his tally to two goals after registering his first in the competition as a substitute in the East Asians’ opener against Yemen.
“It is my job to score goals and contribute in the team’s success,” he told the-AFC.com. “I am very happy to score the goal but overall I am happy with the team’s performance in this game.
“We are getting better in each game and improving technically as well. The atmosphere in the dressing room is getting better, which is a good sign in a competition like this.
“We hope to continue playing like this and keep winning as our goal is not only to qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup but also to win this competition.”
Despite opening their account with an encouraging 3-0 win over Yemen, favourites Japan suffered a setback in their second game as they drew 0-0 with Islamic Republic of Iran and had to take their campaign to the final match day to pursue the ticket to the knockout stages.
But Iwasaki, who started representing the Land of the Sun in the 2012 AFC U-14 Festival of Football, praised his teammates saying they felt no pressure prior to the game against Qatar and that helped them not only win the last game but also wrap up their campaign top of their group.
“As we have qualified for the quarter-finals, the entire team has calmed down (more) now,” he said. “There was no pressure as such but we wanted to find our rhythm and in the end we topped the group.”
Photo: AFC