He also praised his team as the top contender for the 2023 Asian Cup, rated him as a “post-Asian” with 20 players from European leagues, the highest ranking in Asia (17th) at the FIFA rankings, and his confidence that he is no match for Asia. All of them turned out to be false.
Japan suffered a shock loss of 1-2 against Iraq in the second Group D match of the 2023 Qatar Asian Cup at Education City Stadium in Alayan, Qatar on the 19th.
He looked nervous in the first match against Vietnam, but suffered a humiliating loss in the second match. Japan, which had one win and one loss, lost its first place in the group to Iraq, which had won its second straight game. 토토사이트 추천
Japan mobilized all of its best members. Suzuki Zion, the mixed-race goalkeeper who called it the only hole, made another mishap, allowing Iraq’s Aemen Hussain to score the first goal. Hussain scored another goal in stoppage time. He was crowned the hero who netted both of his effective shots. Endo Wataru scored one goal in stoppage time, but it was too late. Japan lost to Iraq. It was a perfect defeat.
FIFA ranking was just a number. Japan was 17th. Iraq was 63rd. Iraq was ahead of Japan in teamwork, and was better than Japan in both physical and mental strength.
In fact, Iraq was not a team that Japan could not ignore. The team was evaluated as the dark horse of the event based on strong teamwork. Although there are no superstars, Iraq has established a “golden generation.”
Starting with 33-year-old veteran goalkeeper Jalal Hasan, who scored multiple goals in the match against Japan, and young players including 19-year-old Ali Jasim and 23-year-old Abrahim Bayesu, they are well-coordinated. The golden generation that united as such a one-team destroyed the Japanese legend’s first team.
Japan had won 11 consecutive A matches up to the previous matches. Then, Japan has scored multiple goals in 11 consecutive matches. Japan has scored a whopping 49 goals in 11 matches, an average of about 4.5 goals. Such a team was able to score just one goal at the end of the match against Iraq. In particular, Iraqi players showed off their fighting spirit. They threw, threw, and threw again. Iraq showed the standard by which weak teams can bring down strong teams.
With this victory, Iraq beat the Japanese A team for the first time in 42 years. The team won the match against Japan for the first time since the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games in which the A team joined. It was nothing short of a match of their lifetime. It would be similar to how Japan beat Germany and Spain at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and Saudi Arabia beat Argentina.
It was a legitimate victory. It was a perfect victory for anyone to disagree with. What made Japan even more humiliating was that Iraq in the Middle East did not play “bed soccer.” Middle Eastern countries are famous for bed soccer. If you win, you lie down, lie down, and lie down again. Korea has experienced this before, too.
Iraq, however, played fairly even though it was winning. In particular, they were chased by Japan one goal in extra time in the second half, and despite Japan’s wave of attacks, they did not lie down. According to the Middle East standard of bed soccer, it is time to lie down. Iraq rejected bed soccer. That is why this victory is all the more valuable.
Now, all the teams in this tournament cannot ignore Iraq. Their appearance is reminiscent of 2007. It was then when Iraq was called the Miracle Team, which won the Asian Cup for the first time and the last time.
In the 2007 Asian Cup in four Southeast Asian countries, Korea was held back by Iraq. After a 0-0 draw in the semifinals, Korea lost 3-4 in the shootout. Korea failed to advance to the final. Iraq, which reached the final, beat Saudi Arabia to win its first title. I can feel the spirit and determination of that time in Iraq now. The fighting spirit and passion are amazing.
Maybe it’s better for Korea to be No. 1 in Group E and Japan to be No. 2 in Group D. Meeting the legendary Japanese first team in the round of 16 may be more advantageous to Korea than a solid Iraq.
