On Friday, 19 January, the SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) played their second group stage match of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023 at Education City Stadium in Doha, where they lost 1-2 to the Iraq National Team.

The win sees Iraq through to the knockout stages, while Japan drop to second in Group D. Also on the day, Indonesia beat Vietnam 1-0 to move up to third place. The top two teams from each group, plus the top four third-placed teams, advance to the Round of 16. With a place in the knockout stage on the line, Japan will play their third and final group match against Indonesia on Wednesday 24 January.

Playing in front of a crowd of 38,663 in a completely away atmosphere, Japan made two changes from their starting line-up against Vietnam, with ASANO Takuma (VfL Bochum) starting as the lone striker and KUBO Takefusa (Real Sociedad) starting at number 10 in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Iraq, on the other hand, made five changes to the team that beat Indonesia, with Aymen HUSSEIN starting up front. It was announced shortly before the tournament that one of the team's main attackers would be ruled out of the tournament due to poor fitness, but the team showed no signs of this, using their height and pace to overwhelm Japan from the outset.

Iraq opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Ahmed YAHYA's through ball into the box allowed Ali JASIM to whip in a cross. Although Japanese goalkeeper SUZUKI Zion (Sint-Truidense VV) got a hand to the ball, Hussein was on hand to head home the rebound and give his side the lead.

Trailing by a goal, Kubo and ITO Junya (Stade de Reims) led Japan’s search for an equaliser, setting up opportunities through the middle and on the right side. A close chance was created in the 32nd minute when Kubo delivered a through ball that allowed Asano to break into the box, but the shot taken by the striker sailed wide of the target.

While Japan struggled to break down their opponents' defence, Iraq capitalised on a counter-attack in additional time when Yahya broke down the left and delivered a cross to Hussein, who headed home his second goal of the match to give Iraq a 2-0 lead at half-time.

In an attempt to come back from a two-goal deficit, head coach MORIYASU Hajime brought on TOMIYASU Takehiro (Arsenal) for TANIGUCHI Shogo (Al-Rayyan SC) at the start of the second half, with Ito Junya moving to the left. The change in tactics presented Japan with a golden opportunity in the 56th minute when Ito Junya broke down the left and sent in a cross that allowed Asano to draw a foul in the area, but the decision was overturned after a VAR review.

DOAN Ritsu (SC Freiburg) and UEDA Ayase (Feyenoord) came off the bench in the 61st minute, followed by the introduction of Celtic FC duo HATATE Reo and MAEDA Daizen in the 74th minute. Japan also changed their formation, with ENDO Wataru (Liverpool FC) anchoring the midfield in an attempt to send more players into the attacking third. In the 83rd minute, a cross from the right by MINAMINO Takumi (AS Monaco) was met by Maeda's header, but the winger was unable to find the target.

Japan finally got on the scoresheet in additional time of the second half, when Endo converted Hatate’s left corner kick. Desperately needing a goal to salvage a point, Japan made one last push in the closing minutes, including a goalmouth scramble following a corner, but were unable to find the equaliser as Iraq took all three points to go top of the group.

It was the first time Japan had lost in the group stage of an Asian Cup since the 1992 tournament in Hiroshima, which they won the title for the first time. It also ended Japan's 10-match winning streak dating back to June last year.

The SAMURAI BLUE will now face Indonesia on Wednesday, 24 January.

Coaches and Players' Comments

MORIYASU Hajime, Head Coach of SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)
The fact that we conceded early in the game made it very difficult, especially playing in a completely away atmosphere like this, and the second goal we conceded just before half-time made it even worse. We needed to do a better job of entering the game and finishing the half. While the players and staff are giving their utmost efforts to prepare for the game, I, as the coach, have to reflect on my inability to lead the team to victory and make the necessary adjustments for future games. But the tournament is not over yet, so we need to use the experience we gained in these two games to do a better job and win our next game.
We knew from the scouting reports how our opponents were going to come into the game, and we expected the crowd to be against us. So, we tried to open the game by playing as aggressively as we could, but they just overpowered us. In that sense, we just didn't have what it takes to win the game. Even if we have all the talent to win the game, it won't matter if we don't play to our potential from the start.
We need to reflect on the fact that we didn't create many big chances and we need to improve the quality of our game as a whole. Personally, I feel the need to reflect on how my selection may have affected the mentality of the players, especially after winning the first game. I am sure there are a lot of things I could have done differently to change the outcome of the game and we all need to work even harder as a team in our daily training sessions so that we can play the football we want to, no matter who we are playing against. We expected our opponents to bring on number 10, so we started Tomiyasu in the second half, but at the same time we wanted to manage his playing time as he had just come back from injury.

DF #2 SUGAWARA Yukinari (AZ Alkmaar/Netherlands)
The timing of the two goals we conceded was bad. The first goal came following a throw-in and we knew a player was going to run inside, so we could have done a better job of defending the throw-in and covering the runner. Personally, I could have put more pressure on when the ball came to the right side. They were just better, and I feel responsible for not being able to match the quality of our opponents.

DF #3 TANIGUCHI Shogo (Al-Rayyan SC/Qatar)
We knew exactly what they were trying to do, but in the end we let them get away with it. I think we could have controlled the game as long as we didn't concede, so it's unfortunate that we conceded those two goals. There are a lot of things we need to work on, but I feel that it is the little things, like winning possession and not making mistakes, that make the difference in these games, so we really need to reflect on this result and do better. We all knew that we were the team to beat in these competitions, but I think we were a bit overwhelmed today by the intensity of our opponents and the atmosphere in the stadium.

DF #22 TOMIYASU Takehiro (Arsenal/England)
We came here to win, so this is a very disappointing result. Our opponents played more direct than we expected, and we were forced to spend a lot of time in our own half, especially in the opening minutes, which allowed them to gain momentum. These two games have reminded us just how difficult it is to compete in Asia. Our opponents are very wary of us, and they can get out of hand if they gain momentum at home, so in that sense the way we conceded those two goals in the first half really dictated the outcome of the game. Not to mention how difficult it is to come back from two goals down. They played better than we expected, but instead of being passive we need to be more aggressive in matches like these.

MF/FW #8 MINAMINO Takumi (AS Monaco/France)
Today we conceded two goals at crucial times in the game. Experienced players, myself included, have to take the initiative to read the flow of the game and lead the team in games like this. In that sense, we needed to do a better job of getting everyone's attention and regrouping before each restart, especially in the first half. I think that is very important when competing in the Asian Cup. We didn't create many chances and lacked creativity in the final third. I wish we could have regained possession after conceding the opener and gone into the second half 0-1.

MF/FW #10 DOAN Ritsu (SC Freiburg/Germany)
They played with a lot of intensity, and we were overwhelmed right from the start. I knew there was a lot of competition on the flank, so I tried to play differently to Ito (Junya) and carry the ball more towards the middle. I also noticed that we were not taking many shots, so I made a conscious effort to take shots. Although I was able to play the way I wanted to, I regret that I wasn't able to capitalise on the chances I was given. Our opponents deserved to win today. We must learn from this experience and try to bounce back to win our next game.

MF/FW #14 ITO Junya (Stade de Reims/France)
The opening goal really hurt us, and we were unable to adapt to their power play. We knew they were going to play a lot of long balls, but we couldn't collect the rebound and conceded within the first five minutes, which made the game very difficult. On the other hand, they made the most of their chances and gained momentum from the goal. We haven't conceded many goals in our recent games, but today we conceded far too easily. The fact that we only created about three big chances is something we need to address. We just need to win all our games from now on, no matter who we play. We need to know when to possess the ball and when to clear it and improve the quality of our play in the attacking third.

MF/FW #20 KUBO Takefusa (Real Sociedad/Spain)
Although we were possessing the ball, we didn't create many chances and, conversely, we conceded two goals in the first half. It wasn't as if we were playing badly, so it was unfortunate to end the first half like that. There were a couple of crosses we could have done better with before we conceded the second goal, so we need to do a better job of capitalising those chances. We made a lot of poor passes and gave away possession far too easily, perhaps as a result of us unexpectedly conceding the first goal and losing our composure. Looking back, it might have been better to change our approach a bit when things weren't going our way in the first half, especially knowing how loose our opponents were. We cannot get too caught up in the thought of playing Korea Republic (in the Round of 16) because we still have a game to play. We need to focus on our next game against Indonesia.

Jesus CASAS, Head Coach of Iraq National Team
Today is a great day for the people of Iraq. We have beaten Japan and increased our tally to six points. Winning a match is not easy and you have to be ready to fight. My policy is to pick players who can fight, but the important thing about playing for the national team is to balance that competitiveness with quality. I am proud of my players, and I hope the nation is proud of them as well. Today we will celebrate our victory, but tomorrow we must focus on our third match against Vietnam. We hope to show you another competitive game.

YouTube(AFC):#AsianCup2023 | Group D : Iraq 2 - 1 Japan

AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023

Tournament dates: Fri. 12 January - Sat. 10 February 2024

Group stage
1st Match: Sun. 14 January 14:30 ◯4-2 vs Vietnam National Team
2nd Match: Fri. 19 January 14:30 ●1-2 vs Iraq National Team
3rd Match: Wed. 24 January 14:30 vs Indonesia National Team
※Dates and times are listed in local time.

Tournament information