Extra time needed in first two quarter-finals of AFC U-23 Championship

PFDC – DOHA, The quarter-finals began today as Japan took on Iran and the hosts Qatar entertained North Korea. Who would move on in their quest to qualify to Brazil 2016?

Japan v Iran – Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha

The Iranians were the underdogs entering this match but they knew they were capable of defeating Japan. Amir Arsalan Motahari had an early chance to give Iran the lead when his shot was pushed away by Japanese goalkeeper Masatoshi Kushibiki for a corner kick.

In the 26th minute, striker Yuha Kubo almost scored his third goal of the tournament but his low shot from the right side of the penalty area went a little wide of the far post.

Motahari had another chance with eight minutes remaining in the first half when Naomichi Ueda made a mistake trying to clear the ball out of the Japanese penalty area but Motahari’s shot was rushed and off target.

Right before the hour mark, the best opportunity to take the lead for Iran came when a cross from the right side by Ali Abdollahzadeh was headed by Milad Mohammadi but bounced off the post.

The game remained scoreless at the final whistle. The Iranians brought a lot of energy and were very disciplined throughout the ninety minutes and had chances to pull off the upset but entering extra time the question now was who had more energy and fresher legs?

The Blue Samuari answered that question six minutes into extra time when a left-footed cross from Sei Muroya into the penalty area was headed in by Yuta Toyokawa. At that moment the Iranian supporters realized that finding an equalizer would have been the equivalent of climbing a mountain.

Shoya Nakajima made the game safe for Japan in the 109th minute when his brilliant strike from outside the penalty area went over the head of Iranian keeper Mohammadreza Akhbari and dipped under the crossbar.

Nakajima then put on the finishing touches one minute later when he rifled a shot from the top of the penalty area that Akhbari had no chance to stop. Japan celebrated while the Iranians could only sit and wonder what could have been if they had capitalized on their chances.

Qatar v North Korea – Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Doha

The hosts Qatar came into this match with high amounts of confidence considering they had won all of their group matches and they would be playing a North Korean squad that had yet to win a match in this tournament. The North Koreans were heavy underdogs but proved to Japan in their first match that they are a tough team to beat.

Akram Afif got the action started with a run down the left side of the field that took him into the penalty area. He was then fouled by North Korean defender defender Kang Il-nam. Afif easily converted the penalty to put the hosts up 1-0 after only six minutes.

North Korea had a great chance to equalize late in the first half when Kim Yong-il took advantage of a blunder by Qatari defender Tameen Mohammed but his shot from the edge of the six-yard box went wide with only keeper Muhannad Naim to beat.

Both sides kept up the pressure in the second half but still no goals until stoppage time.

North Korea were awarded a free kick in the 91st minute. From just outside the penalty area, captain So Kyong-gin curled a right-footed shot that barely missed the head of Afif and went into the top right corner of the net. The Qataris were stunned while the North Koreans kept themselves alive by forcing extra time.

Less than two minutes into the first half of extra time, Afif received a long ball and carried it into the penalty area and was able to attract the attention of North Korean defenders Hong Jin-song and Kang Il-nam. Afif then perfectly chipped the ball with his left foot back to Ali Asad who shot past keeper An Tae-song to put Qatar back in the lead 2-1.

The Qatari fans and players were delighted at the final whistle as they will now await a semi-final match with either South Korea or Jordan.

Image courtesy of the-afc.com