Southampton: Yoshida and Japan progress past Vietnam into last four
By Marc Walker
Southampton defender Maya Yoshida wore the captain’s armband again as he and Japan progressed to the Asian Cup semi-finals earlier today.
A 1-0 victory over Vietnam saw them into the last four as they continue on their search for a fifth triumph in the competition.
Ritsu Doan’s second-half penalty proved enough to see them through and means that they have won all of their games in the tournament hosted by the United Arab Emirates.
Japanese fans and players will surely be hoping for more convincing victories from now on though after five narrow wins so far.
3-2, 1-0 and 2-1 wins came over Turkmenistan, Oman and Uzbekistan in the group-stage before two 1-0 victories over Saudi Arabia and Vietnam in the knockout stages.
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It looks to be a tough run for Yoshida and his side if they are to reach the final on 1st February.
They have set up a semi-final meeting with Iran who progressed with a convincing 3-0 win over China earlier today.
Former Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz is their manager and they are one of the best sides left in the competition after also appearing at last summer’s World Cup in Russia.
Two further quarter-finals will also be played tomorrow and also feature two of the favourites for the competition too.
South Korea face Qatar and have the likes of Tottenham Hotspur’s Hueng-min Son and Newcastle United’s Ki Sung-Yong in their side.
Another strong side in Australia then play tournament hosts United Arab Emirates and boast Brighton’s Mathew Ryan and Celtic’s Tom Rogic amongst their squad.
The Australian’s have only been eligible to play in the the Asian Cup since 2007 but have an impressive record so far.
They reached the quarter-finals in their maiden appearance, but went on to finish as runners-up in 2011 and won the last Asian Cup back in 2015.
Whilst they look for their second victory in the competition and Japan search for their fifth title, South Korea and Iran will be looking for their third and fourth triumphs respectively.