May 4 – Japan won their second U23 Asian Cup title with a goal in the 91st minute against Uzbekistan at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha, Qatar.
It was a dramatic finish to the tournament with substitute Fuki Yamada, brought on 18 minutes from the end, scoring in the 91st minute but Japan needed a penalty save from Leo Kokubo in the 100th minute to secure the title.
It is Japan’s second U23 title, the first having been won in 2016. Ubzbekistan leave as beaten finalists for the second tournament in succession, having lost to Saudi Arabia in final in 2022.
In a close match Japanese coach Go Oiwa’s introduction of Yamada and Sota Kawasaki proved to be decisive. Yamada scored almost immediately when he placed his deader from a Kawasaki cross over Abduvakhid Nematov.
With the clock ticking into added time Yamada hit a shot from the edge of the area into the corner of Nematov’s goal.
In the tense final minutes and with Uzbekistan pressuring, Takahiro Sekine handballed. Kokubo dived to his right to keep out Umarali Rakhmonaliev’s strike and earn Japan the title.
Both teams had already qualified for the Olympic Games in Paris this summer by progressing to the Final. Japan will be making the 12th Olympic appearance while Uzbekistan will be making their first. Iraq have also qualified winning the third placed play-off against Indonesia who have one more opportunity to qualify with a play-in against Africa’s Guinea this week.
AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Abraha, al Khalifa, commenting on the closing gap in performance between Asian teams and their rivals in the dominant confederations, said: “The AFC U23 Asian Cup Qatar 2024 was another breathtaking showcase of Asia’s undeniable talent, which reinforced the growing trend of our emerging teams closing the gap with the Continent’s traditional powerhouses.
“On behalf of the Asian football family, I would like to congratulate our title-winners Japan for their consistency and capturing the imagination of the Continent and credit also goes to history-makers Uzbekistan for captivating us with their exceptional displays throughout the tournament.”
Drawing the curtain on the second major AFC tournament held in Qatar this year, he congratulated organisers on the significant successes, saying: “Just two months after hosting the greatest ever edition of the AFC Asian Cup, Qatar has once again shown the world their outstanding organisational capabilities and the AFC and the Asian football family joins me in expressing our heartfelt gratitude to the Qatar FA and the Qatari Authorities.”
The Paris Olympics men’s tournament will take place from July 24 to August 9, while the women’s edition, which saw Australia and Japan qualify from the AFC, will be held from July 25 to August 10, 2024.
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