Tag: Japan

The AFC Internet Circus

  • Ehsan Mohammadi
  • Iranian Journalist / Iran Varzeshi
  • Translated from Persian.

Yoval Noah Harari in the introduction to the acclaimed book “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” talks about the term “Digital Dictatorship”. A new dictatorship type that can overturn the facts. Iranian football is slowly being conquered by the army of virtual fans these days. Trench to trench. Fans who roar on social media but don’t even bother to turn up to the stadiums like real fans to watch a match and the stands of the stadia in Iran are getting emptier every year on end.

I admire the valuable functions of cyberspace, but the growth of the Digital Dictatorship is scary. It is wrong to shut down anyone who doesn’t think like us by forming a group and a mouthpiece, or to engage in facts with virtual campaigning and write history little by little in the way we like (not as it is) is Persecution. Even if 80 million people defend it, it is still wrong and unethical.

 

I wrote a few notes about AFC polls. How did come to realize how to read our hands and learned how to hold polls to increase visits, clicks and votes so that thousands of Iranians could be attacked under the influence of encouragement and to beat the drums happily and then consider success in this childish campaign a sign of excellence and rewrite, and distort history.

The issue of online polls is no different. The best goal of Asia, the most popular player in Asia, the best legionnaire in Asia, the most beautiful player, etc. It doesn’t matter what poll it is, we always win! Why? Because we are Iranians and we have to be the best.

One of the social reasons for this virtual struggle is “trying to clear up the feeling of being left behind.” Assuming that we can get our rights in Asian football with a few likes, clicks and pressing a button on the keyboard, a right we can’t get on the football field!

It has been 50 years since we qualified for the Olympics, we haven’t won the Asian Cup for almost half a century, and the last time an Iranian club won the Asian Champion League (or the Asian Clubs Championship), half of the current league players weren’t even born!

In the latest example, the AFC website ran a poll to choose the best Asian player in the FIFA World Cup.

The Candidates were:

Park Ji Sung / South Korea (three appearances, three goals scored and fourth place title in 2002)

 Sami Al-Jaber / Saudi Arabia (four appearances, three goals scored and one assist)

Tim Cahill / Australia (four appearances, five goals and one assist)

Keisuke Honda / Japan (three appearances, four goals and three assists)

Alireza Beiranvand / Iran (one presence, a clean sheet and Ronaldo’s penalty save)

The result was shocking! Beiranvand topped the table with 68% of the votes, followed by Honda, a distant second with 24%, Sami Jaber 6%, Park Ji Sung with 1% and Tim Kahil with 0%!  Beat on the drum boys and rejoice!!

Even a cooked chicken would giggle at this result, but the media and news agencies in Iran boasted that “Beiranvand became the best Asian in the history of the FIFA World Cup!” Really ….. the best Asian player in the history of the World Cup ?! Do we even believe this ourselves? When reputable news outlets, websites and sports publications publish such unrealistic news without criticism, then they endorse it and recognize it as a fact.

If it was just a hobby in the days of quarantine, it could be bypassed, but it’s ridiculous and dangerous when it goes down in history and is repeated so often in general as a document that no one else dares to criticize it.

 

I was constantly reminded of the famous story of Hans Christian Anderson when a child shouted “The king is naked”! Why don’t all the journalists and news outlets who know that these kings of the AFC site are not wearing their uniforms not only shout that they are also putting firewood on the fire so that you can go and vote and raise the Iranian flag! With a handful of likes and clicks ?! Isn’t this complicity in a mistake and falsification of history, or has prejudice blinded us so much that we prefer a pleasant lie to a bitter truth?

A few days later, when the professional and real specialists examined the performance of the players (without passion, clinched fists and happy drum rolls), the results were reversed and Alireza Beiranvand ended up at the bottom of the list. According to the experts Park Ji-sung topped the table, followed by Tim Kahil, Sami Al-Jaber and Honda.

 

This article does not seek to criticize Beiranvand, who is a distinguished player and probably the best goalkeeper in Asia right now. It condemns the credibility and integrity of the AFC circus. Want to be the best in Asia? Then prove it on the football field, otherwise be honored by Championships and trophies that are won on websites by likes, clicks and virtual campaigns. China and India have a population 20 times that of our country, and they can choose any player in their top ten as the best player in the history of the World Cup above the stars like Pele, Maradona and Messi and Ronaldo! …

If this happens, won’t we laugh at them?

Don’t doubt that many in Asia are laughing at us now with our virtual and imaginary internet honors. If we are about national pride, we should not fool ourselves into believing such fallacy.

AFC Futsal Championship Turkmenistan 2020 draw.

Ashgabat: The path to Asian futsal glory has become clearer for the Continent’s top 16 teams after the AFC Futsal Championship Turkmenistan 2020 official draw was conducted at Ashgabat’s Olympia Hotel on Friday.

The ceremony separated the 16 qualified teams into four groups ahead of next year’s competition, where the best in Asian futsal will compete for the title of Continental champions.

Host nation Turkmenistan will begin the competition with what is sure to be a hotly anticipated clash against tournament debutants Oman on February 26, before rounding their Group A commitments with matches against Tajikistan and Vietnam. The final will be played on March 8.

The defending champions Iran were drawn in Group D alongside Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia and Southeast Asian champions Thailand.

Newly crowned AFC Futsal Player of the Year Tomoki Yoshikawa will lead Japan in an intriguing Group B, which also includes Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic and Kuwait, while four-time runners-up Uzbekistan will begin their campaign against Indonesia after both sides were drawn in Group C, which also contains Bahrain and China PR.

The AFC Futsal Championship is Asia’s flagship international futsal competition, also serving as the final stage of FIFA Futsal World Cup qualifying, with the top five sides in Turkmenistan to represent the Continent at Lithuania 2020.

With 12 titles in the 15 previous editions of the competition, Iran is the most successful side in AFC Futsal Championship history, with three-time champions Japan the only other nation to have lifted the trophy.

The Futsal Team Melli will have to battle it out with Thailand for the lead in the group. Winners and runners up will then meet the Group C two top teams in the quarter-finals.

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Match Schedule

27th February 2020 Iran Saudi Arabia Main Indoor Arena, Ashgabat.
29th February 2020 Korea Rep. Iran Main Indoor Arena, Ashgabat.
02nd March 2020 Iran Thailand Martial Arts Arena, Ashgabat.

Group A: Turkmenistan (host), Vietnam, Tajikistan, Oman

Group B: Japan, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait

Group C: Uzbekistan, Bahrain, China .Indonesia

Group D: Iran, Thailand, Korea Rep. , Saudi Arabia

Iran comes out of AFC Annual Awards empty handed

The Asian Football PConfederation Annual Award ceremony was held without any achievement for Iranian football as the Iranian representatives returned home empty-handed.

The top Asian football awards event was held in Hong Kong yesterday (Monday) and various prizes were awarded to top players. Various countries, including Japan and East Asia in general, which have been leading the West for many years, have won numerous awards, but the most prestigious award  (Asian Player of the Year) was given to the Al Sadd and National Qatari Team player, Akram Afif.

Al-Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez received the award on behalf of Afif who is involved in the Gulf Cup football tournament currently held in Doha, Qatar.

Although Iran had candidates in five different categories, the Iranians failed to win any awards. Alireza Biranvand (Asian Footballer of the Year nominee), Sardar Azmoun (Asian Legionnaire of the Year), Mehdi Javid (Asian Footballer of the Year), Katayoun Khosrowyar (Asian Football Coach of the Year) and the Iranian Football Federation (Best Inspirational Federation) were Iran’s representatives. The day before the ceremony, however, Mehdi Taj and the director of the Ministry of Sport’s Information Center had revealed that Beiranvand has not won the award! Despite Iran’s lack of success and absence from the honours awards, an Iranian, Alireza Faghani, currently working and residing in Australia, was selected as Asia’s best referee in 2019. The fact is that award was the result of his individual genius and talent, rather than a proper system and mechanism of producing quality referees like himself (Faghani).

According to the famous French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

Recent national teams and club football failures such as World Cup qualifying defeats against Bahrain and Iraq, failure of Iranian clubs in AFC Champions League teams, Futsal Club failure, loss of AFC top rankings, not to mention various other failures at age-group football and so on were another stern reminder of lack a predetermined programming, quality, planning and long term systematic strategy in Iran.

The achievement of the existing system, or lack of it to be precise, and the poor mechanism has resulted in the failure to win the men’s and women’s titles of the year, as well as the Asian men’s and women’s coach of the year, which is highly regarded in Asian football but Iran has not won the title for many years. Although Alireza Biranvand is one of Asia’s top male candidates and Katayoun Khosraviar is one of Asia’s top female candidates and Alireza Faghani’s selection as Asia’s best referee is a delight and Iranian football is proud of the presence of such figures, their success is due to their innate talent, individual brilliance, rather than being products of a  Collaborative attitude and system. Their personal efforts are hardly derived from the organized, progressive and systematic football regime.

Alongside the growth and promotion of East Asian football, the Qataris have shown by their impressive achievements in the individual and team sectors that success is not just a matter of genius and talent, but the planning and existence of competent and capable managers who can lead to the achievement of plans and goals. Iran football managers are found wanting in this department and have failed time and again to meet the expectations of the passionate fans.

Recent events and successive failures are another important warnings for Iranian football, proving that the successive qualification for the  FIFA World Cup twice in a row, the AFC Champions League final appearance by Persepolis in 2018, and even the winning AFC footballer of the year in 2004 were all the  outcomes and efforts of talented coaches and footballers, and has nothing to do with management systems or development efforts of Iranian managers or the Ministry of Sports.

It is no secret that besides Iran’s weak Asian football lobby for prizes, the current dilemma is the incompetence of sheer lack of skills by the executives of the football federation incapable of properly executing programs that were practically implemented in countries that are way behind Iran’s capabilities and riches.  Other countries, such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, became West Asia’s flagship solo and team achievements.

With the present incompetent football management at the three most important levels (Clubs, Football federation and the Ministry of Sports) any success will be in isolation, any award-winning will be individual brilliance, any titles will be miracles of those poor passionate Iranian fans that have waited for over 4 decades.

The present Iranian football system will NOT produce winners and champions. However, the bleakest of the news is the fact that there is no prospect in sight of a White Knight on horseback who can save Iran’s football. There are plenty of critics armed with rhetorics, but no strong leader to take control of the situation and develop it like a real professional.

Branko Ivankovic : ” No intention to coach Team Melli”

Former  Team Melli and Persepolis coach Branko Ivankovic says he has no intention of coaching Iran national football team.

Ivankovic led Persepolis to the Iranian domestic treble last season but left after they failed to pay him his salary, a common practice in Iran in the last few years.

The 65-year-old coach, considered as one of the best foreign coaches of Team Melli, won the gold medal in 2002 Asian Games and led Team Melli to third place in 2004 AFC Asian Cup.

The Croat coached Iran at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, where the Team Melli failed to qualify for the next stage after losing to Mexico and Portugal. while drawing with Angola.

“At the moment, I have a lot of offers from Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Japan and China but have not accepted them so far. In Al Ahli, I was fired after three matches, something I never experienced such a thing before. I believe I worked well for the team as it needed some changes in dressing room but this is football and I accept it,” Ivankovic said.

Asked why he left Persepolis at the end of the last season, Ivankovic said, “I had four fascinating years in Iran and I so much miss the country. However, I was forced to leave Persepolis because they didn’t pay our salaries for about one year. At that time, Al Ahli gave me a good offer and I accepted it,” he added.

Persepolis have lost three times in the last 10 matches but Ivankovic says they are favourites to win the title for the fourth time in a row.

“I think Gabriel Calderon needs time in Persepolis because he is a great coach. Persepolis fans love their team and support their players and coaches. In my opinion, Persepolis and Sepahan are vying for the title in the current season,” Ivankovic stated.

Ivankovic believes that Team Melli had a chance to qualify for the next round at the FIFA 2018 World Cup.

“I think (Carlos) Queiroz preferred to defend in Russia. Iran could have played attacking football against Portugal and Span. After beating Morocco, Team Melli should have taken risks,” said Ivankovic .

“Is there any chance to return to Team Melli if he receives an offer?”

“I would prefer to work at club level. I am not going work as a national team head coach,” Ivankovic concluded.

Iran’s Futsal climbs to 4th in the World Ranking.

Iran’s futsal Team has climbed to the 4th place in World Ranking joined by Argentina.

In the latest figures published by the Futsal World Ranking website for the month of October 2019, Brazil maintained top ranking followed by Spain and Russia. Iran is also the top-ranking team in Asia.

Just like the football ranking, Japan is behind Iran as the second-best Asian team at 15th place in the world. Thailand is also in the top 20 teams of the world at 19th place behind Iran and Japan.

WORLD FUTSAL RANKING

Current ranking – 31 October 2019
Ranking Team Points rank
dec 18		 +/-
dec 18
1  Brazil 1839 1 0
2  Spain 1785 2 0
3  Russia 1670 3 0
4  Iran 1644 6 2
4  Argentina 1644 5 1
6  Portugal 1637 4 -2
7  Kazakhstan 1565 7 0
8  Italy 1494 8 0
9  Ukraine 1466 9 0
10  Colombia 1454 12 2
11  Croatia 1443 13 2
12  Paraguay 1437 10 -2
13  Serbia 1416 15 2
14  Azerbaijan 1409 11 -3
15  Japan 1380 14 -1
16  Czech Republic 1367 16 0
17  Slovenia 1359 17 0
18  France 1300 18 0
19  Thailand 1295 19 0
20  Belarus 1294 22 2

Three places drop in Team Melli’s FIFA Ranking

IN the latest ranking published by FIFA, Iran dropped three places to No 23 while solidly maintaining its top AFC ranking.

Team Melli lack of competition plus the continental competitions in the Americas and Africa has resulted in many teams getting points while Iran remaining stagnant on theirs.

Team Melli is in the 23rd spot with 1518 points

Iran is one spot behind USA (1548 pts) and one above Wales (1514 pts).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the continental ranking, Iran is still at the top of AFC ranking ahead of AFC Asian Cup runners up Japan which lost 5 places, Korea Rep and Australia.

 

FIFA WC 2022 Asian Qualifiers Draw

The Round Two draw of the Asian Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 concluded in the Malaysian capital on Wednesday.

The draw, conducted by FIFA Director of Competitions Christian Unger and Australian legend Tim Cahill, saw Asia’s top-ranked team Iran pooled in Group C alongside Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong and Cambodia.

Iran will be aiming for a third consecutive appearance in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, having narrowly missed on qualifying for the knockout stage in Russia 2018.

Japan, Asia’s best performers in the 2018 FIFA World Cup where they were defeated by Belgium in the Round of 16, were drawn in Group F with Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Myanmar and Mongolia.

The Korea Republic, who have appeared in every edition of the FIFA World Cup Finals since 1986, will have Lebanon, DPR Korea, Turkmenistan and Sri Lanka in Group H of the Asian Qualifiers.

Saudi Arabia, who defeated Egypt 2-1 to end their 2018 FIFA World Cup campaign on a high, will face Uzbekistan, Palestine, Yemen and Singapore in Group D.

Australia, who became the record fifth Asian team at a World Cup Finals after going through the Inter-Continental Playoff to earn a berth in Russia 2018, will go up against Jordan, Chinese Taipei, Kuwait and Nepal in Group B.

Qatar, who will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, were drawn in Group E alongside Bangladesh, Oman, India and Afghanistan in their bid to defend the AFC Asian Cup they won in spectacular fashion in the UAE last February.

China PR, the host for the AFC Asian Cup 2023, will have to navigate past Syria, Philippines, Maldives and Guam in Group A their bid for a second appearance in the FIFA World Cup Finals.

Group G had a distinctly Southeast Asian flavour as ASEAN rivals Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia were all drawn together, with the United Arab Emirates completing the cast.

The eight group winners and four best runners-up will advance to the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Finals and the final round of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

The next best 24 teams from the second round of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining 12 slots in the 24-team AFC Asian Cup China 2023.

Iran through after surviving Lebanon challenge

The-afc.com

Tabriz:  Iran needed extra time to see off the plucky challenge of Lebanon, winning 3-2 to seal their place in the semi-finals of the AFC U-20 Futsal Championship IR Iran 2019 on Tuesday.

Iran will play Japan in Thursday’s semi-final after the East Asians defeated 2017 runners-up Iraq in their last eight tie earlier on Tuesday.

The other semi-final will see Indonesia taking on Afghanistan.

Iran entered the match as clear favorites after progressing into the quarter-finals undefeated as Group A winners. On top of that, the host nation had also beaten Lebanon two years ago at the same stage.

Lebanon, meanwhile, lost to Thailand two days ago to finish Group B runners-up, but were looking to shock Iran.

The opening minutes were equal but Iran gradually gained more possession of the ball as the game wore on, and were creating more opportunities with their quick passes.

In one such instance in the eighth minute, Iran forced the Lebanon players to come forward leaving unmarked Ali Aghapour plenty of space and time to send the ball past goalkeeper Victor Hanna Gerges for Iran to take the lead.

Lebanon, however, were undaunted and kept pressing and despite not finding the equalizer, would have taken heart from the fact that they only trailed by one at the half-time break.

Iran’s dominance continued well into the second half but failed to increase their lead thanks to a rock solid Lebanese defending.

Sahand Rezapour came close to doubling Iran’s lead in the 34th minute after beating two defenders but smashed his right-footed effort against the post.

 

Determined to extend their stay in the AFC U-20 Futsal Championship, Lebanon sent on Hussein Hamieh as the power player in the 38th minute and his impact was instant.

Iranian goalkeeper Mohammadali Niknamtoghabe, who had been untroubled for most of the second period, was called into action moments later to pull off a double save to deny Hamieh and Mohamad Elkaisst.

Iran were left to rue their missed opportunities when Lebanon’s Jamal Selwan found the back of the net with a quick twist and turn strike, to force extra time.

 

The woodwork continued to be Iran’s main adversary in extra time, as Rezapour struck the upright again after Reza Ghanbarisaeidabad’s free-kick deflected off the Lebanese wall in the 43rd minute.

It took Iran 37 minutes to find their second goal, and Aghapour received all the credit with his crackling strike from near the half-line mark into the top right corner of the net that left Hanna Gerges rooted to the ground.

Aghapour turned provider in the 48th minute through a corner set-piece, and Ghanbarisaeidabad directed the ball into the net with ease to make it 3-1.

Captain Steve Koukezian pulled one back a minute later, but Lebanon still suffered heartbreak as Iran held on to book their place in the last four.

Hamid Moghadam: IR Iran head coach

“I don’t know why this happens to Iranian teams a lot when the easiest game becomes the hardest game. Maybe it’s got to do with the mentality, and we need to change that. I didn’t expect such a hard game, and that the match would be a draw. We lost so many chances, and if we had utilized our chances, we wouldn’t have been under pressure. Not scoring goals and the ball not going into the area is two different things. We had created many chances, and sometimes you’re unlucky in scoring. We hit the crossbar so many times I lost count, but that’s futsal.”

Tarek Rizk: Lebanon head coach

“Honestly, after the match against Thailand, people said this would be the easiest quarter-final. I told my players that it was not my team against Thailand, and we tried to adjust it. Previously, we knew we couldn’t compete with Thailand, and Iran wasn’t far from it. So we adjusted our mistakes and defended from our hearts and mind. I’m so proud of my boys, so proud that the Lebanese futsal committee trusted me and I hope that we have given a good image of Lebanese futsal as we look forward.”

Iran climbs to 22nd in FIFA World Ranking

Team Melli has reached one of its highest FIFA ranking in history as it achieved the 22nd spot in the world while maintaining the top of AFC Asian ranking.

In the list that was issued today by FIFA, Iran climbed 7 spots from last month to accumulate 1516 points just behind Peru and one spot above Austria.

The credit to this success gores to the results of Team Melli in the AFC Asian Cup where Iran played 6 matches winning 4 , drawing 1 with a single loss.

Japan took the 2nd spot in Asia and 27th in the world with a whopping 23 places climb after reaching the Finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

South Korea also had a very good rise with a 15 places climb to no 38 in the world and 3rd in Asia followed by Australia which lost 1 place to 42 and 4th in Asia.

The greatest climb was for Asian Cup 2019 champion Qatar who leapfrogged number of team and climbs an incredible 38 positions to 55 in the world and fifth in Asia.

 

AFC Rank FIFA Rank Team Points Previous Points Rank Change
1 22 Iran 1516 1481 7
2 27 Japan 1495 1414 23
3 38 Korea Republic 1451 1405 15
4 42 Australia 1441 1436 -1
5 55 Qatar 1398 1258 38
6 67 United Arab Emirates 1355 1309 12
7 70 Saudi Arabia 1344 1335 -1
8 72 China PR 1339 1317 4
9 80 Iraq 1310 1271 8
10 83 Syria 1286 1322 -9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Qatar stuns Japan to win Asian Cup 2019

Qatar produced the most famous moment in its sporting history Friday after defeating Japan 3-1 in the final of the Asian Cup.

In a tournament that has been as much about the geopolitical struggle in the region as much as the football itself, Qatar secured the sweetest of triumphs courtesy of goals from the competition’s top scorer Almoez Ali, Abdelaziz Hatim and Akram Hassan Afif.
To win the title was perhaps unexpected, but to do so in the United Arab Emirates, one of the countries to join with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in breaking off relations with Qatar in June 2017, is likely to feel even more satisfying for those in Doha.

Almoez Ali's spectacular overhead kick gave Qatar the lead.

Almoez Ali’s spectacular overhead kick gave Qatar the lead.
While Qatar’s participation in the tournament was ostensibly about football, the talk throughout has often steered away from the sport and instead centered on the political and diplomatic strife in the region.
Qatar’s 4-0 win over the UAE in the semifinal was particularly difficult for the host nation to swallow, but this result is likely to prove even more embarrassing with celebrations likely to last all night in Doha.
The boycott of Qatar, the worst diplomatic crisis to hit the Gulf Arab states in decades, followed allegations that the state was supporting terrorism and destabilizing the region.
Qatar rejected the accusations, labeling them “unjustified” and “baseless.”
Much of the criticism aimed at Qatar comes from its alleged support of the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic group considered a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Qatar supporters cheer during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup final football match between Japan and Qatar.

Qatar supporters cheer during the 2019 AFC Asian Cup final football match between Japan and Qatar.
Qatari citizens were given 14 days to leave Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE, while all three countries banned their own citizens from entering Qatar.
Yemen, Mauritius, Mauritania, the Maldives and Libya’s eastern-based government also joined the boycott.
The air and land blockade imposed on Qatar also meant that the national team had to take a longer route to reach the UAE, flying via Kuwait instead.

Abdelaziz Hatim of Qatar scores his team's second goal against Japan.

Abdelaziz Hatim of Qatar scores his team’s second goal against Japan.
But the off-field tensions have not appeared to have had any negative effect on a Qatari side that was ranked 93rd in the world going into the tournament.
Even when the Asian Football Confederation confirmed to CNN that the UAE football association had lodged a formal complaint with the Asian governing body over the eligibility of two of Qatar’s players, a complaint that was dismissed, Qatar seemed unfazed.

Qatar and UAE face off in Asian Cup

Its run to the final of the competition, which included victory over the much-fancied South Korea in the quarterfinal, and UAE in the last four, was remarkable. Under huge pressure and orchestrated anti-Qatari crowd booing their national anthem, the  unwelcome guest demolished the host with a 4 – 0 drubbing.  Each goal scored by Qatar was met by throwing objects, water bottles and obscenities against the celebrating Qatari players.
There were no Qatari citizens in the stadium, as they are not allowed in UAE but the Omani and Iranian fans did the job of support in the stadium instead of the absent Qatari fans.
And yet, against a Japan side, a four-time winner of the competition, it reached a whole new level.
Led by Ali, whose spectacular overhead kick was his ninth goal of the tournament, a new record for the Asian Cup, Qatar doubled its lead on 27 minutes when Hatim fired home.

Japan's forward Takumi Minamino scored in the second half.

Japan’s forward Takumi Minamino scored in the second half.
Japan fought back in the second half with Takumi Minamino halving the deficit in the 69th minute, the first goal Qatar had conceded in the tournament.
But any hopes Japan had of rescuing the tie were firmly extinguished when Afif kept his cool to score from the penalty spot to settle the tie and start the celebrations.
For Qatar, the host nation of the next World Cup, 2022 cannot come soon enough.