AFC U23 Asian Cup
Head coach Go Oiwa’s side showed no signs of easing up as goals from Shusuke Furuya and Ryunosuke Sato sealed a 2-0 win against Qatar and the Group B top spot with a perfect nine points on Tuesday.
#AFCU23 | Group B: Japan 2-0 Qatar
“Our target was to win the third match and we did that,” said Oiwa. “Now we want to prepare for the quarter-finals while keeping our momentum.
“It was important that all 23 players contributed. We take every game seriously, even though we knew we were through.”
Furuya found the breakthrough for the two-time champions in the 30th minute after powering home Kaito Koizumi’s cross, with Sato capitalising on a defensive error late on to seal the three points.
“It was important that all 23 players contributed. We take every game seriously, even though we knew we were through.”
Furuya found the breakthrough for the two-time champions in the 30th minute after powering home Kaito Koizumi’s cross, with Sato capitalising on a defensive error late on to seal the three points.
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With an eye on the quarter-final against Jordan, Oiwa opted to juggle his starting lineup, with the head coach saying it was important to keep his players fresh.
“We will assess the condition of the players carefully and decide who will start in the quarter-finals. Today was also about making those evaluations while staying competitive.”
“We will assess the condition of the players carefully and decide who will start in the quarter-finals. Today was also about making those evaluations while staying competitive.”
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Qatar head coach Ilidio Vale admitted his side were punished for their errors as they succumbed to a third defeat with five goals conceded and none scored.
“We were competitive, but mistakes cost us and decided the final result,” said Vale. “We couldn’t match Japan’s physicality and overall, we didn’t perform as we had hoped to in this tournament.”
“We were competitive, but mistakes cost us and decided the final result,” said Vale. “We couldn’t match Japan’s physicality and overall, we didn’t perform as we had hoped to in this tournament.”
