Japan lost to Iran in the last minute

Iran had an impressive comeback against Japan to advance to the semi-finals of the 2023 Asian Cup. But it must be admitted that the "Green Samurai" can only blame themselves for making a series of mistakes in the defense system.

Goal

Iran: Mohebi (55’), Jahanbakhsh (90+6’)

Japan: Morita (28’)

Being in an underdog position, Iran entered the game very cautiously. Under the 4-2-3-1 formation, coach Amir Ghalenoei asked his players to play low, accepting to cede the match to Japan. When the opponent proactively set up the bus, "Green Samurai" had complete control of the ball. In the first half, Japan sometimes held the ball 73.4%. However, in front of Iran's dense defense system, Japan did not have many opportunities to threaten the opponent's goal because the Iranian defenders organized tightly, played disciplined, and kept a reasonable team distance. Although it was difficult to find a way into Iran's 16m50 zone, Mr. Hajime Moriyasu's students did not flinch. Japan deploys the ball slowly and steadily with the goal of finding loopholes to suddenly accelerate.

In such a ball, the "Green Samurai" scored a goal to break the deadlock in the 28th minute. Morita passed to his teammates after a ball situation at the edge and then rushed straight into the middle to continue controlling. The player playing for Sporting CP of Portugal then made a solo move past three Iranian defenders before kicking a shot past goalkeeper Beiranvand into the net. Japan's leading goal was a reasonable result, reflecting the true situation on the field. During the first half, Iran did not have any memorable plays except for gradually stepping up the attack after Japan reduced the pace of play at the end of the first half.

Right at the beginning of the second half, Kubo and Ueda had two good situations to deepen the gap for Japan, especially Ueda's empty header but it was unsuccessful. However, that was almost all the "Green Samurai" could do in front of Iran's goal. After that, Mr. Amir Ghalenoei's army seemed to awaken and rise up strongly. Mohebi, Azmoun, and Ghoddos formed a "pincer" to suffocate Japan's defense system, putting Suzuki's goal on red alert. In the 55th minute, Mohebi escaped to receive the ball from his teammate and then placed it very delicately, scoring the equalizer for Iran. In this situation, goalkeeper Suzuki missed the ball, creating an opportunity for Iran to attack and Mohebi scored a goal.

Kubo dribbles in front of Iranian players

The equalizer was like a psychological blow to Iran, so Mr. Amir Ghalenoei's students stepped up the attack, not accepting to give up the game like in the first half. With the speed of the players on the attack, the ability to accelerate The very strong power of Azmoun or Mohebi created very dangerous situations, which unfortunately could not be converted into goals. In particular, Azmoun once put the ball into the Japanese net in the 65th minute, but the referee raised the offside flag because... this player's shoulder was below the last defender of "Blue Samurai". Missing a series of good opportunities prevented Iran from coming back to win early.

When it seemed like the match would have to go into extra time, in the last minute of extra time, Japan's defense made a serious mistake to help Iran get a penalty kick. Defender Itakura fouled Kanani in the penalty area and the referee did not hesitate to point to the penalty spot. On the penalty spot, captain Jahanbakhsh made no mistake and scored the winning goal 2-1 for Iran, thereby sending the West Asian team to the semi-finals.