NEWS

The Beach Soccer Japan national team lost 3-2 to Bahrain on penalties on Monday, but still advanced to the semifinals of the Asian qualifiers for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Dubai.

Japan finished second in their group after losing to Bahrain on penalties following a 2-2 draw. Takeshi Kawaharazuka and Teruki Tabata scored for Japan.
Bahrain won the group with six points, while Uzbekistan ended with no points and finished in third place.
Japan will play Group B winners Iran in Tuesday’s semifinals. A win there will give Japan one of the two Asian berths to play in the World Cup later this month.
Iran won all three of its group matches to finish first, followed by Oman (6  points), Australia (3) and China (0).