- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Asian Cup holders Japan have been sent crashing out at the quarter-final stage by the United Arab Emirates, going down 5-4 on penalties in one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history.
The scores were locked at 1-1 after 120 minutes, but missed penalties by superstar pairing Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda left it down to Ismail Ahmed to book the UAE a semi-final clash with the Socceroos in Newcastle on Tuesday, and the big defender made no mistake with a brilliant effort.
The star-studded Blue Samurai, with ten players in the starting line-up from the top leagues in Europe, trailed for 82 minutes after Ali Ahmed Mabkhout’s early strike, but were rescued by a brilliant strike from the edge of the box by Gaku Shibasaki.
The goal was a harsh blow for the dogged Emiratis who were forced to withstand a barrage of pressure from a desperate Japan in the second half but their defence, superbly marshalled by Ahmed and Mohanad Salem, stood resolute.
However, they rode their luck on a couple of occasions with Yoshinori Mutu missing two golden opportunities from close range and Kagawa forcing Majed Naser into a fine save before Shibasaki struck.
Borussia Dortmund star Kagawa almost won the game with the final kick of normal time, but his close-range effort grazed the outside of the left post as the final whistle sounded.
Extra time followed a similar pattern with Kawashima in the Japan goal a complete spectator for 30 minutes, but still his side could not find a second goal.
Honda blazed the first penalty of the shoot out over the bar but the richly talented Omar Abdulrahman responded for the UAE with an audacious Panenka kick, chipping the ball over Kawashima’s head.
Khamis Esmaeel missed for the UAE with the third kick to level but Kagawa hit the left post with his sudden death effort and Ahmed stunned the noisy Japan fans to win the game and send the holders out in the last-eight for the first time since 1996.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.