Iraq stun Japan to seal Asian Cup last-16 spot

AL RAYYAN – Iraq claimed their first victory over Japan in 42 years when they won their Asian Cup Group D encounter 2-1 on Jan 19 to qualify for the knockout stages, thanks to a first-half double from Aymen Hussein.

The Samurai Blue were unbeaten against the West Asian side in their last nine games and Iraq’s victory in Qatar propelled them to the top of the group standings with six points from two games, while Hajime Moriyasu’s side have three points.

“We had a great game today and the most important thing is that we got three points,” said Iraq coach Jesus Casas, a Spaniard who was a long-time assistant to Luis Enrique at both Barcelona and Spain.

“I have great confidence in the players and thank them for their commitment. We have to focus and prepare for the next game against Vietnam.”

Roared on by thousands of fans in the stadium, the Iraqis – ranked 63rd in the world to Japan’s 17th – scored inside just five minutes when Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki failed to deal with a cross, parrying the ball straight to Hussein who headed it into the top corner.

Iraq’s strategy to unsettle Japan was to stay compact and use their physicality early on, which worked to an extent until the Japanese began using their pace and finding space on the wings to put crosses into the box.

However, Iraq doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time when Ahmed Al-Hajjaj skipped past his marker and floated in a cross that was headed home from point-blank range by Hussein as the Iraqi fans at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan went delirious.

Japan went into the game in Doha on the back of a 10-game winning streak in which they scored 43 goals. But they ultimately had no answer for Iraq’s power and aggression, backed by the support of almost 40,000 in the crowd.

Moriyasu made five substitutions after the restart and, although Japan had nearly 75 per cent possession of the ball and a penalty claim denied after a video assistant referee check, they did not test the Iraq goalkeeper until late in the 94th minute.

Liverpool’s Wataru Endo headed home at the far post from a corner, but it was too little, too late.

“It was a tough result,” said Moriyasu, who took Japan to the round of 16 at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

“The players did their best in preparing for the first game (against Vietnam) and against Iraq. I want to learn from this for the next match. It’s only the second match. We need to reflect on a lot of things, so we can move forward in the future.”

In their final group match, Japan will face Indonesia, who beat Vietnam 1-0 on Jan 19.

Asnawi Mangkualam converted a 42nd-minute penalty to seal victory for Indonesia, who are behind second-place Japan on goal difference.

Vietnam, who had Le Pham Thanh Long sent off in stoppage time, are bottom of Group D with zero points. REUTERS, AFP