On Sunday 13 January, the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) played their second group stage match of the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019, where they defeated the Oman National Team 1-0 at Zayed Sports City Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Midfielder HARAGUCHI Genki (Hannover 96) scored the deciding goal in the first half to give Japan back-to-back wins to secure their spot into the round of 16.

With the team in position to advance to the knockout stage with a draw or better, Coach MORIYASU Hajime made two changes to their starting line-up. It was KITAGAWA Koya (Shimizu S-Pulse) who was selected to replace the injured striker OSAKO Yuya (Werder Bremen), while TOMIYASU Takehiro (Sint-Truidense V.V.) was shifted back to his natural position in the defence line, allowing ENDO Wataru (Sint-Truidense V.V.) to start in the defensive midfield role.

Following their close loss to Uzbekistan in the first match, Oman also made two changes to their starting line-up. With the team making an offensive change by bringing in Muhsen AL-GHASSANI, who scored a goal as a substitute in the first match, the Oman side was keen to earn their first win of the tournament.

The match kicked-off under a cool climate at 17:30, allowing the Japanese players to play more freely compared to the first match. From the early minutes of the match, Haraguchi and MINAMINO Takumi (FC Red Bull Salzburg) were seen repeatedly making runs behind the opposing defence line to create opportunities.

Two minutes into the match, Haraguchi responded to a cut back delivered by DOAN Ritsu (FC Groningen) and struck the cross bar. Minamino also threatened the opposing goal by forcing a turnover and striking a shot in the eighth minute, but his attempt was denied by the goalkeeper. Another opportunity came for Minamino in the 12th minute, when he chased down a long ball delivered behind the Oman defence line, but his shot sailed away from the target.

While Japan created multiple opportunities in the early minutes of the match, Oman anticipated for their chances to counter attack. Their biggest opportunity came in the 20th minute, when they forced a turnover while Japan was applying numbers upfront. Midfielder Salah AL-YAHYAI quickly delivered the ball to Al-Ghassani who dribbled passed the Japanese goalkeeper GONDA Shuichi (Sagan Tosu) to strike a shot, but his attempt failed to capture the goal.

Another opportunity was created for Japan in the 24th minute, when Minamino received the ball from the midfield and struck a shot. The shot was deflected by the opposing goalkeeper and Doan responded to the loose ball to capitalise, but his effort was blocked by a defender.

After seeing all of their attempts getting denied by a fraction, Japan’s golden moment came in the 28th minute. Haraguchi responded to the loose ball created by Minamino’s shot and earned a foul in the penalty area. Haraguchi converted the spot kick himself to give Japan the opening goal.

Oman came close to equalising the match at the end of the first half, as they created an opportunity from a counter attack. It was Al-Yahyai who responded to a loose ball to fire a shot, but his attempt was cleared by a Japanese defender to send the match into halftime with a 1-0 Japanese lead.

The second half saw Oman slowing down their pace to move the ball around with composure, while Japan laying a block in defence to keep their lead intact.

Forward MUTO Yoshinori (Newcastle United) was brought onto the pitch to replace Kitagawa in the 56th minute. While both sides struggled to create a clear opportunity, in the 84th minute, Muto got to the end of a cross delivered by Haraguchi to drop the ball down to Doan in the box, but their attempt was called offsides.

Japan made another change in the closing minutes of the match, as ITO Junya (Kashiwa Reysol) was brought on for Doan. The late substituted midfielder came close to scoring a goal when he chased down a through ball in the 90th minute, but his shot was blocked by the opposing goalkeeper. The final whistle was blown shortly after, as Japan won the match with a score of 1-0, increasing their tally to six points in Group F.

In the other match played in Group F, Uzbekistan won over Turkmenistan with a score of 4-0, taking the group lead with the advantage over Japan in goal differentials. As result, Japan now dropped to second place, while placing Oman in third and Turkmenistan in fourth.

Japan will now face Uzbekistan in their third group stage match on Thursday 17 at Al Ain. The two teams will square off with the group lead at stake.

So far, Jordan, China PR, Korea Republic, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar has all qualified for the knockout stage with two consecutive wins.

Coaches and Players' Comments

MORIYASU Hajime, Coach of SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)
The players did well to prepare themselves ahead of this second match. It was a very difficult match, but we managed to win with a clean sheet and secure our spot into the next round. It would have been ideal if we could have converted the many chances created in the first half, but we were expecting our opponents to increase their pressure after we scored the first goal, so it was nice to see our players play with great patience. We might have played a little too passively after taking the lead, but the fact that we earned the win with a clean sheet is something we should be proud of. However, to make a deep run in this tournament, we must be able to score more goals after taking the 1-0 lead. We must find ways to score goals while keeping a solid defence and create more time in offence, just like we did in the first half. With our next match coming up soon, we must get ourselves prepared. In terms of the judges made on the pitch, we must obey the decisions made by the referees. As a result, we earned a penalty kick to win the match 1-0, but both teams have performed well and showcased an exciting match. As a coach, I would like to praise both sides for their efforts.

DF #5 NAGATOMO Yuto (Galatasaray S.K.)
Our priority was set to win the match and to advance to the knockout stage, so I am glad about this result. However, we are not satisfied with our performance. If we continue to play like we did today, we will not survive through the knockout stage. We must be able to convert the few chances we’ve got to win matches. It’s not just the attackers’ responsibility, but the players in the defence line must also question themselves, whether or not the quality of their final passes were good enough. Compared to our first match, it was evident that are combinations and variations in offence were much better, and we managed to create many close opportunities. But with that being said, we still have minor adjustments to make in defence to fight through the knockout stage.

MF #9 MINAMINO Takumi (FC Red Bull Salzburg)
I am glad that we have achieved our goal to advance through the group stage. We were able to enter the match much better and create more opportunities compared to our previous match. We managed to keep possession of the ball longer. I personally was able to make timely runs, diagonal movements, and make myself available to post up between players. It would have been better if I was able to score goals, and as we progress through the tournament, I will be asked to play with higher quality, so I will keep working hard to improve myself.

FW #13 MUTO Yoshinori (Newcastle United)
We had to score the second goal. I personally made the decision to pass the ball in the first opportunity I was given and made a passing error in one of our counter attacks, so I am not satisfied with my performance. However, I believe in myself that I can do better next time. We don’t know who will play in our next match against Uzbekistan, but we must play to win the match.

Pim VERBEEK, Coach of Oman National Team
We were looking to win the match, so this was a disappointing result. Japan was the better team today. We were lucky to get through the first 15 minutes of the match scoreless, as Japan created so many opportunities and our goalkeeper made superb saves to keep the score levelled. However, we gave up an unfortunate penalty kick and we had the opportunity to gain a penalty kick of our own, but that never happened. We managed to control the match very well in the second half, but we seemed to get tired towards the end and lacked energy in our plays. We are still a young team, so we hope to learn from these matches. We still have a chance to advance through the knockout stage if we finish in third place, so we will prepare ourselves to make the people of Oman happy.

Schedule

SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) Squad, Schedule

AFC ASIAN CUP UAE 2019

Tournament Dates: Sat. 5 January - Fri. 1 February 2019

Group Stage:
Wed. 9 January Kick-off 20:00 (Japan Time)
Japan National Team 3-2 Turkmenistan National Team

Sun. 13 January Kick-off 22:30 (Japan Time)
Japan National Team 1-0 Oman National Team

Thu. 17 January Kick-off 22:30 (Japan Time)
vs Uzbekistan National Team

Broadcasting: Televised Live at TV Asahi Group
BS Broadcasting: Televised Live at NHKBS1

Tournament Information