Led by Freiburg Bundesliga professional Ritsu Doan, Japan moved into the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup on Wednesday (January 31, 2024).
The record winner beat Bahrain 3-1 (1-0) in the round of 16 and will now face World Cup participants Iran or Syria. The two will play against each other on Wednesday at 5 p.m. in Qatar’s capital Doha.
Meet Doan, Kubo and Ueda
Doan (31′) gave the Japanese the lead at the Al Thumama Stadium, shortly after the break Takefusa Kubo (49′) increased the lead. After an own goal from Ayase Ueda (64th), things got exciting again – but a little later the striker also hit the right goal (72nd) and restored the two-goal lead.
In addition to Doan, Mönchengladbach central defender Ko Itakura was in the starting line-up of the four-time Asian champions. Stuttgart’s Hiroki Ito was not used, Bochum’s Takuma Asano was substituted in the final phase.
Mancini is in a lot of trouble in Saudi Arabia
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia coach Roberto Mancini is in for a lot of trouble after heading to the locker room before the final shot was fired in the defeat to South Korea in the round of 16 of the Asian Cup. This is a “completely unacceptable” Behavior, emphasized the president of the Saudi Football Association, Yasser Al-Misehal.
“We will discuss with him why this happened. Mancini has the right to state his point of view and then we will decide on appropriate measures.”said Al-Misehal on the Saudi broadcaster SSC. Mancini had apologized for leaving the pitch and claimed he thought “The match is already over”.
It wasn’t. Mancini didn’t see Hee-Chan Hwang’s decisive penalty. After a 1-1 draw after extra time, South Korea coached by Jürgen Klinsmann won the penalty shootout 4-2 and will now face Australia in the quarter-finals.
Zoff about Starting XI guarantees
Mancini (59) recently complained publicly about the moods of his selected players. Three nominated professionals demanded a starting eleven guarantee in order to give their consent for the Asian Cup game against Oman. “Nothing like this has ever happened to me before”criticized Mancini.
Mancini took over as national coach in Saudi Arabia last August and signed a lucrative contract. He therefore gave up his position in Italy, which he led to the European Championship title in 2021. He was sharply criticized for this in his home country.