Result Iraq 2-1 Japan: Japan lost in shock, facing the risk of being eliminated. The 1-2 loss to Iraq caused Japan to miss the opportunity to win an early ticket to the 1/8 round of the 2023 Asian Cup. Even, the team This ball is completely at risk of being shocked. Iraq goal: Aymen Hussein (5′, 45’+4) Japan: Endo (90’+3) Japan shock Before the ball kicked off, most experts and fans believed in victory for Japan Previous Iraq version. But the scenario on the field played out in a way no one could have imagined when in the first half, the representative of the country of cherry blossoms conceded twice to the Middle Eastern team. At 7 minutes, Iraq attacked from the left wing. Jasim’s uncomfortable cross caused goalkeeper Suzuki on the Japanese side to handle it unsafely. Ayman Hussein did not miss the opportunity when he scored into an empty goal. After 2 minutes of VAR check, the referee confirmed the goal was valid for Iraq. Conceding a surprising goal, Japan was forced to press forward in search of an equalizer. Iraq scored 2 goals against Japan in the first half. Japan’s calculations of a tentative match in the first phase went bankrupt. Coach Hajime Moriyasu’s team is eager to push their squad higher to soon equalize the gap. In the 14th minute, Ito escaped to catch Kubo’s pass. But the inside pass of the “running machine” on the Japanese side was too inaccurate. In the 22nd minute, from a corner kick on the left wing, Kubo passed the ball low to Morita. He headed the wall for Endo to finish, but the Liverpool midfielder’s shot was too inaccurate. Most of the first half saw Japan dominate. But on a day when the midfield lacked too many clearing passes, the attackers of the cherry blossom team could not regularly approach Iraq’s goal. Then in the last minute of extra time of the first half, Japan had to pay a heavy price. Ahmed Al Hajjaj’s effort to save the ball started Iraq’s second goal. He created conditions for Ayman Hussein to defeat the Japanese defender in an aerial battle, before hitting the ground with a header, putting the ball beyond goalkeeper Suzuki’s control, raising the score to 2-0 for Iraq. Japan could be eliminated. In the second half, Japan increased its attack. But they almost conceded a third goal from Iraq in the 53rd minute. 3 minutes later, Japan thought they had received a penalty when Asano fell in Iraq’s penalty area. But after consulting VAR, the referee confirmed that Rebin Sulaka tackled the ball correctly in this situation. Meaning, Japan lost the opportunity to receive a penalty. The next few minutes witnessed Japan’s efforts. In the 72nd minute, they were denied another penalty, despite Minamino being impacted from behind by an Iraqi player. However, the referee affirmed that the Middle Eastern team did not violate the rules against Japan. While everyone was thinking about a final defeat with a 2-goal difference against Japan’s Iraq, Endo rekindled a ray of hope with a goal in the third minute of injury time of the second half. Japan is not sure to continue Reo Hatate takes a corner kick from the left wing. Goalkeeper Hassan went out but misjudged the drop point. His mistake immediately paid the price when Endo picked up the ball at the far post and headed it into the empty net. Shortened to 1-2 and with 5 minutes of overtime left in the match, Japan rushed forward to attack hoping to save 1 point. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. Losing the final with a difference of 1 goal to Iraq, Japan stood still with 3 points after 2 matches. They need to win against Indonesia in the final round to definitely win the right to continue! But on the contrary, defeat against Indonesia could lead to disaster for Japan. Because then, they are even at risk of finishing last in the group and being eliminated. Iraq squad: Jalal Hassan, Rebin Solaka, Hussein Ali Haidar, Suad Natiq, Frans Putros, Youssef Amyn, Ibraheem Bayesh, Amir Al Ammari, Ali Jasim, Aymen Hussein, Ahmed Al Hajjaj. Japan: Zion Suzuki, Yukinari Sugawara, Shogo Taniguchi, Kou Itakura, Hidemasa Morita, Wataru Endo, Takumi Minamino, Junya Ito, Takuma Asano, Takefusa Kubo, Hiroki Ito.
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