NEWS

Japan secured a berth in next year’s FIFA Under-17 World Cup by reaching the semifinals of the AFC Under-16 Championship with a 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Sunday evening in Tashkent.

Japan scored two goals in the first half – through forward Kenyu Sugimoto and an own goal – of their quarterfinal victory over the Saudis, a change from their previously announced opponents Australia.
Yemen, who initially won Group D ahead of Japan following a 2-1 win in their third and final game on Thursday, were found guilty by the AFC on Sunday of using an over-aged player.
Their matches with Japan and Malaysia were both forfeited and Asian football’s governing body awarded 3-0 wins to Japan and Malaysia. As a result, Japan won the group with three wins and were rescheduled to meet Saudi Arabia. UAE finished second, followed by Malaysia (both three points) and Yemen at the bottom (zero points) in the revised group table.
At MHSK Stadium in the Uzbekistan capital, Japan started slowly and were put under pressure by their west Asian rivals early on.
After the 30-minute mark, however, the Japanese players gradually found their form and Gaku Shibasaki came close with an attempt in the 35th minute.
The opening goal came in the 38th minute, when Sugimoto connected with an Usami corner at the near post.
The defending champions widened the lead shortly before halftime when Yuki Horigome’s low cross found the foot of Saudi midfielder Abdullah Otayf and ended up in the net.
Japan thought they had made it 3-0 five minutes after the break when Koji Takano fired in an Usami free-kick, but it was called offside.
The young Boys in Blue went on to threaten the Saudi goal with efforts from Sugimoto, Usami, substitute Takumi Miyayoshi and Kyohei Uchida.
“We’ve worked as a unit and made a certain achievement,” said Japan Under-16 coach Yutaka Ikeuchi.
“Our players looked stiff early in the game but were able to find their pace after scoring the first goal from a set piece.”
Ikeuchi continued, “Now we’d like to move on to our next target.”
On Wednesday, Japan will next play Korea Republic, who reached the semifinals with a 3-0 win over hosts Uzbekistan.