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AFC Asian Qualifiers
The Blue Samurai’s high-octane performance was marked by head coach Hajime Moriyasu as key to their second successive win in Group B that saw them open a three-point gap with DPR Korea and Syria.
Moriyasu was also pleased with his team’s high work rate.
“Yes, we were creating many chances but were not able to find the breakthrough," said Moriyasu. "It was a great shot from Take (Kubo), which we needed otherwise the opponent would have become more confident in defending.
“The players showed great character to continue to push after that and did not drop the intensity, which is a smart approach because we have to take advantage in periods where the opponents’ heads dropped a little.
“The win is a collective effort from everybody but we must not be complacent and we need to continue to prepare ourselves in the right way and ensure that we can also perform in the coming matches.”
Ayase Ueda continued his good form, scoring twice against Syria to add to the hat-trick he netted against Myanmar on Matchday One, after Kubo had put the Japanese ahead in the 32nd minute.
Goals in the second half from Yukinari Sugawara and Mao Hosoya sealed the emphatic win for Japan.
When the Qualifiers resume in March, Japan have a double-header against DPR Korea - starting with a home tie on March 21, while Syria will play Myanmar.
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