NEWS

The Futsal Japan men’s team fell 5-3 to Uzbekistan in the quarterfinals of the Asian Indoor Games on Wednesday at Phu Tho Gymnasium in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Japan went ahead in the 14th minute through Tomoaki Watanabe.
But the Boys in Blue faced a fierce rally from the Uzbeks, who had won Group D under the guidance of former Futsal Japan coach Sapo, and the team from Central Asia leveled the scores through Dilshod Irsaliev in the 16th minute.
A few seconds later, Makhsud Fayzullaev broke the tie for Uzbekistan and Irsaliev made it 3-1 with his second goal of the day in the 21st minute.
Japan pulled a goal back with a strike from Akira Yoshida in the 27th minute, but a minute later, Uzbekistan widened the lead through Bahodir Ahmedov. Artur Yunusov added a fifth goal in the 33rd minute.
Yoshida, who plays for Italian club Olvieto, scored a consolation goal for Japan in the 40th minute.
In the other men’s quarterfinals, Iran romped over Malaysia 16-1; Thailand downed Kuwait 7-4; and Turkmenistan edged Jordan 3-2.