AL-RAYYAN, Qatar: Japan left it late to win its second Under-23 Asian Cup after beating Uzbekistan 1-0 in the final on Friday.
Substitute Fuki Yamada broke the deadlock in the first minute of stoppage time at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium and Japan goalkeeper Leo Kokubo saved a penalty to preserve the lead.
Uzbekistan, the 2018 champion, almost took an incredible lead just before halftime. Ruslanbek Jiyanov, just inside the Japanese half, tried to send a long cross into the area but, instead, the flight of the ball deceived Kokubo and bounced off the crossbar.
For the goal, Ryotaro Araki backheeled the ball to Yamada just outside the area, and he fired low into the left corner.
Just five minutes later, Uzbekistan was awarded a penalty after a VAR review when Hiroki Sekine handled in the area. Kokubo made a diving save to his right to push out Umarali Rakhmonaliev’s powerful shot.
Both finalists and third-placed Iran also qualified for Paris Olympics men’s football. Fourth-placed Indonesia has one more chance to make it to a first Olympics since 1956 with a playoff against Guinea next Thursday.
Japan beats Uzbekistan in stoppage time in U23 Asian Cup final
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Japan beats Uzbekistan in stoppage time in U23 Asian Cup final
- Substitute Fuki Yamada broke the deadlock in the first minute of stoppage time
Undav scores again as Stuttgart sink Frankfurt to go third
- A dipping header from Rasmus Kristensen gave Frankfurt an early lead
- The victory took the German Cup holders to third, a point behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund
BERLIN: Nikolas Nartey nabbed a late winner and Deniz Undav continued his hot form as Stuttgart beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 at home on Tuesday to climb to third in the Bundesliga.
A dipping header from Rasmus Kristensen gave Frankfurt an early lead but Ermedin Demirovic pounced on a goalkeeping error and Undav’s deflected effort helped Stuttgart wrestle back control of the match before half-time.
Bundesliga debutant Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab brought Frankfurt level but Nartey’s 87th-minute strike, his first Bundesliga goal, put the hosts back in front.
The victory took the German Cup holders to third, a point behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who cruised to a 3-0 victory over Werder Bremen stretching their unbeaten run to 10 league games.
Frankfurt have struggled this season after last campaign’s third-placed finish, their best result in three decades.
Kristensen connected with a corner to put his side in front after five minutes, but Frankfurt ushered Stuttgart back into the game when goalkeeper Kaua Santos spilled a routine catch, allowing Demirovic to slice home.
Undav put his side in front 10 minutes before the break, wrong-footing the Frankfurt defense and blasting a low shot which took a thick deflection into the bottom corner.
Undav, who has nine goals and two assists in his past eight league games, forced two desperation saves from Santos and flashed just wide of the post in the second half.
Amaimouni-Echghouyab levelled things up just three minutes after coming on but his effort was bested by another debut goal minutes later, when Nartey tapped in from close range.
Elsewhere, the match between Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen was postponed just two hours before kick-off, the third Bundesliga game canceled in the space of a week due to wild winter weather across northern Germany.
