Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Abu Dhabi: After 50 matches between teams from all over the continent, the combatants in Asia's biggest football fixture have been decided, with Japan to meet Qatar in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 final.
Who, when, where? JAPAN v QATAR Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi - 18:00, February 1
Japan's 3-0 win against Islamic Republic of Iran in Al Ain on Monday and Qatar's victory over hosts United Arab Emirates 24 hours later in Abu Dhabi, sets up a mouth-watering clash between the sides, who will meet in the decider for the first time in the competition's 63-year history.
www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/japan-qatar-grid1.html
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Abu Dhabi: Qatar will play Japan in the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 final after Felix Sanchez’s charges beat host nation the United Arab Emirates 4-0 on Tuesday in an absorbing last four encounter at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium.
A stirring first-half performance – which saw Boualem Khoukhi break the deadlock and Almoez Ali notch a record-equalling eighth goal of the tournament – laid the foundation for the victory which was rubberstamped by late strikes from Hassan Al Haydos and Hamid Ismaeil as Qatar progressed with relative ease to set up Friday’s title showdown with the Japanese.
While Qatar’s success saw them advance to their first-ever AFC Asian Cup final, it left the UAE to rue what could have been as they failed to emulate their run to the final in 1996.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Abu Dhabi: Qatar's Almoez Ali wrote his name into history during his side's AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 4-0 semi-final win over United Arab Emirates, scoring a tournament record-equalling eighth goal at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium on Tuesday.
The 37th-minute strike means the 22-year-old joins Islamic Republic of Iran's Ali Daei as the most prolific scorer in a single edition of the competition, a mark established in the 1996 Finals, which were also held in the UAE.
Ali's historic strike was his eighth in six matches in the UAE, and follows the six-goal haul which saw him claim the top scorer award at the 2018 AFC U-23 Championship.
Tuesday's goal was one to savour, as Ali collected the ball 35 yards from goal, before driving towards the Emirati penalty area and unleashing a searing low drive which gave goalkeeper Khalid Eisa no chance.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Al Ain: It may have taken place 7,000 kilometres from Japan, but Tsukasa Shiotani felt right at home in his side's 3-0 AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 semi-final win over Islamic Republic of Iran, staged at his club home Hazza bin Zayed Stadium.
The midfielder-cum-defender is a regular for local club Al Ain FC, and came on as a substitute shortly after Hajime Moriyasu's side took a 56th-minute lead on the way to an emphatic victory.
Shiotani said achieving such a significant national team result at the venue he has called home for the last two years was something special.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Al Ain: Japan livewire Takumi Minamino believes his side are gathering momentum at the perfect time, after they surged into the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019 final with a superb 3-0 win over Islamic Republic of Iran on Monday.
A Yuya Osako double, and Genki Haraguchi's late sealer, put the exclamation mark on what was the Samurai Blue's best performance in the competition thus far, and helped them their fifth continental decider since 1992.
Minamino, 23, was a key contributor in the win, and told the-AFC.com the four-time champions are improving with every match.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Al Ain: Japan captain Maya Yoshida prepared for Monday's AFC Asian Cup semi-final against Islamic Republic of Iran like a de facto final, and is now focused on producing a similar performance in the real decider, to be held in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
Two goals to Yuya Osako, and a third from Genki Haraguchi, powered the four-time champions to an emphatic 3-0 win over a previously unbeaten Team Melli, securing Japan's passage to a meeting with either Qatar or United Arab Emirates in the Continental finale.
Yoshida, an English Premier League star with Southampton, revealed the importance of the result, and his delight at having helped his side achieve it.
Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Al Ain: Hajime Moriyasu hailed his team’s fighting spirit as Japan advanced to a fifth AFC Asian Cup final since 1992 on Monday with a 3-0 win over Islamic Republic of Iran at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain.
A brace from Yuya Osako and a late strike from Genki Haraguchi took the Japanese into the tournament decider, where they will face either the United Arab Emirates or Qatar at Zayed Sports City Stadium on Friday.
“Iran have had great results in the past and we knew they were going to be a very tough opponent, but the players had prepared well and they showed great fighting spirit,” said Moriyasu, who also led Japan to the final of the Asian Games in Indonesia last summer."