Japanese favourites fail to reach semi-finals, home defending champions continue at Asian Cup

On Friday and Saturday, the quarter-finals of the football championship of the largest continent took place. The top four teams of the 18. Asian Cup, among others, surprisingly did not advance the Japanese. On the other hand, the defending champions Qatar, for example, made it to the semi-finals. How did the individual matches of the second phase of the playoffs turn out?

The championship of Asia is being held on the Qatar peninsula for the third time in its history. Previously, the event was held there in 1988 and 2011. For the emirate of two million, this is another feast of football on its territory in a short space of time after the 2022 World Cup.

Tajikistan – Jordan 0:1

The opening match of the quarter-finals of one of this year’s international football calendar’s top tournaments took place on Friday at 12:30 CET. For Tajikistan, which was making its first ever appearance at the Asian Cup, the very participation in this stage was a great success.

However, it did not add another win after its eight-goal penalty shootout win over the United Arab Emirates. The 66th minute proved crucial in the duel with Jordan, the conqueror of Iraq in the previous round. During it, Tajik defender Vahdat Khanovov scored an own goal, and ultimately the difference. The championship newcomer was unable to respond after that.

Australia – South Korea 1:2 after extra time

A dramatic duel brought the subsequent clash in the last decades of the regular participants of the World Cup. In the first half, the Australians outshot their opponents. And at the end of the opening 45 minutes they scored the leading goal. Forward Craig Goodwin scored.

In the second half, the counterparts, who have been part of the Asian Cup since 2006 after moving from the Oceania Championship, also created more scoring opportunities. However, Hwang Hichan converted a penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time and extra time ensued with the score level at 1-1.

It belonged to the South Koreans, who fired nine shots in the added half hour and did not allow any shots by the Falcons. Tottenham star Son Heung-min decided the game in the 104th minute. In addition, Australia finished the match with ten men after Aiden O’Neill was sent off.

Iran – Japan 2:1

Before the start of the tournament, the Japanese were considered the biggest favourites to win the title. However, they will have to wait at least another four years for their fifth overall triumph. As they failed to score after beating Bahrain 3-1 in the eighth round on Saturday.

The Blue Samurai did not get off to a bad start against Iran, who had earlier outplayed Syria in the final shootout. They took the lead after Hidemasa Morita’s goal in the 28th minute. However, the Iranians equalised in the 55th minute through Mohammad Mohebi’s goal and struck a second time in injury time. Alireza Jahanbakhsh converted a penalty kick to make it 2-1.

Qatar – Uzbekistan 2:1 after penalties

Saturday night in Qatar was the last quarter-final match in which the defending champions played in front of the home crowd. Their path to qualification was initially made easier by an own goal from their opponents when goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov knocked a shot from a sharp angle behind his back.

It was a fairly even match, with Uzbekistan trying to threaten the opposition goal more often in the second half. Just before the hour was up, his efforts paid off with a goal. Odildzhon Khamrobekov’s goal secured a 1-1 draw.

In the rest of regulation time, no more goals were scored, just like in overtime. Penalties had to be decided. The Qataris managed the shootout better, although they missed two kicks. The Uzbeks, however, failed three times. So a shot by Portugal-born Pedro Miguel from the fifth set of attempts determined the final result.

Semi-finals of the Asian Cup

The semi-finals of the 2024 Asian Cup are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, with the opening kick-off at 4pm our time on both occasions. So what do the pairs of opponents look like as they face each other to advance to the final scheduled for Saturday, February 10?

First up is a duel between Jordan, for whom reaching the quarter-finals is an all-time high. And South Korea, the two-time Asian champions. The Qatari footballers, winners of the last continental championship, will challenge the three-time Asian champion, Iran, a day later.

Source: AFC