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AFC Asian Qualifiers
Ueda scored a brace at the Prince Abdullah Al Faisal Stadium to add to the hat-trick he plundered against Myanmar in Osaka last Thursday for a Japanese side that maintained their perfect start to their campaign in Group B.
Three goals in eight first half minutes set Hajime Moriyasu’s side along the path to victory, with Takefusa Kubo opening the scoring before Ueda’s double gave the Samurai Blue an unassailable advantage at the break.
Yukinari Sugawara added the fourth two minutes into the second half while substitute Mao Hosoya completed the scoring eight minutes from time.
Ueda had shot wildly over the bar in the early exchanges before seeing goalkeeper Ibrahim Alma save from close range after Kubo’s 24th minute corner caused a commotion in the Syrian penalty area, which ended with Wataru Endo hitting the crossbar.
But by the 32nd minute the Japanese were in front when Kubo was given the time and space as the Syrians stood static to crash his left foot shot into the bottom corner from almost 25 yards.
The home defence was breached again five minutes later when Hiroki Ito’s overlapping run allowed Takuma Asano to feed the ball to the left back and his deep cross was headed back across goal by Junya Ito for Ueda to stroke home.
Three minutes later the Japanese were further ahead with Kubo and Junya Ito again at the heart of the move.
Kubo’s pass into the penalty area found Ito with the time to roll the ball into the six-yard box and Ueda once again showed his predatory instincts to strike.
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While Junya Ito was well off target with his attempt from distance late in the first half, there was to be no mistake from Sugawara two minutes into the second period.
Kubo rolled a free-kick into the right back’s path 25 yards from goal and he curled his shot beyond Alma to register Japan’s fourth.
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Hidemasa Morita tried his luck from distance in the 61st minute and Alma blocked Asano’s attempt two minutes later, while eight minutes from time Hosoya controlled Junya Ito’s pass from the left before slamming his shot home as Japan eased to victory.
