NEWS

DOHA – Japan scored three goals in the first 20 minutes and cruised to a 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia in their final group game in the AFC Asian Cup on Monday.
Shinji Okazaki struck a hat trick, while Ryoichi Maeda grabbed a brace for Japan.

Jordan beat Syria 2-1 in the other group game and also advanced to the quarterfinals.
Japan topped Group B with seven points after two wins and a draw. Jordan had a similar record but an inferior goal difference. Syria finished third with three points and Saudi Arabia bottom with no points.
Japan will play Group A runners-up Qatar in the quarterfinals on January 21. Kickoff is at 16:25 local time.

Playing at Al Rayyan Stadium in Qatar’s heartland, Japan only needed a draw to advance, while the Saudis had already been eliminated.
But Japan had to do without injured midfielders Daisuke Matsui and Keisuke Honda, as well as suspended goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima. Shusaku Nishikawa replaced Kawashima, while coach Alberto Zaccheroni gave starts to Shinji Okazaki and Yosuke Kashiwagi.

Okazaki put Japan ahead in the eighth minute. The Shimizu S-Pulse forward latched on to a long feed from Yasuhito Endo, clipped the ball high over goalkeeper Waleed and followed up as the ball bounced toward the net.
Five minutes later, Okazaki again found space behind the Saudi defence and headed in a Shinji Kagawa cross to put Japan 2-0 up.

In the 19th minute, the Samurai Blue found themselves 3-0 ahead. Kashiwagi fed Yuto Nagatomo down the left and Maeda met his cross with a classy flicked volley.
Makoto Hasebe had a great chance to make it 4-0 in the 27th minute when he got on the end of an Atsuto Uchida cross, but he couldn’t direct his volley on target.

Three-times champions Saudi Arabia, who beat Japan 3-2 in the semifinals in 2007, tried to rally with some mid-range attempts by Abdullah Shuhail and Taiseer Al Jassam, but Nishikawa had little to do in the Japan goal.
The Boys in Blue widened their lead in the 51st minute when Maeda anticipated substitute Masahiko Inoha’s cross from the right and planted a slick header past Saudi goalkeeper Waleed Abdullah.

Okazaki completed his hat trick in the 80th minute, turning brilliantly in the box after being set up by Maeda and lashing the ball past Abdullah to make the score 5-0.
Saudi Arabia’s best chance came in the 83rd minute when Mohammed Al Shalhoub took a quick free-kick that caught Nishikawa out of position, but Japan’s goalkeeper reacted well and tipped the ball away for a corner.
Defender Daiki Iwamasa, who came off the bench shortly after the hour mark, came close with a header off a Kashiwagi corner in the 87th minute, while Kashiwagi himself forced Abdullah into a fine save with a crisp left-footed volley a minute later.