Japan luckily makes it into semis

Defending champions Japansurvived a dramatic penalty shootout scare to beat Asian Cup debutants Jordan 5-4 after a 1-1 tie to advance to the semifinals on July 31.

The talismanic figure of Japan Nakamura Shunsuke and Santos Alessandro mysteriously fired Japan's first two penalty kicks overthe bar. Then the referee switched the penalty-taking spot at the request of Japanese players.

Jordan's goalkeeper Mahmoud Sabbah parried Takada Keiji's kick but that was not enough to guarantee a win as his teammates self-destruct to misfire their last four kicks.

Mahmoud El Gohary, head coach of Jordan blamed the referee claiming his decision deprived Jordan of the win. "What happened in the penalty shootout is really unbelievable. The referee decided to switch the penalty kick spot to the other side just because he received the demand of Japanese players."

"We selected the best five players for the shootout, but the referee's decision distracted my players concentration. We could not force the players to concentrate on the penalty kick. They really lost concentration which meant we already lost the game at that moment," he said.

Gohary was pleased to see his change of team system worked in the match. "It's really nice to surprise your opponents by changing your play system. We played counter-attack in the past, but in this game we played more offensively. This surprised the Japanese players."

Japan's head coach Zico praised his players' determination. "Wemissed our first two penalty kicks, and most people thought we were sure to lose. But everything could happen before the final buzzer. Before coming to China, my players pledged to bring the title back to Japan. They showed strong determination to win no matter what happened in the game."

The Brazilian soccer legend justified the referee's decision toswitch the penalty kick spot. "I have never seen or heard of the spot switched during a penalty shootout. But as the referee is thefinal judge in the pitch, so his decision is valid."

Jordan breached Japan's defense, which survived the onslaught of Iran and Oman in their group tussles, in the 10th minute when striker Mahmoud Shelbaieh muscled in a curled pass by defender Khaled Sa'ed from the left flank.

Japan needed only three minutes to find the equalizer when theywere awarded a freekick. Jordan's goalkeeper Amer Shafi Sabbah failed to hold the ball and it fell comfortably to Takayuki Suzukiwho charged close to the goalline. The forward made no mistake.

This was the first time for Jordan to concede a goal in the competitions so far and they closed up their defense hereafter, making the play harder for Japan.

Jordan could not find ways to penetrate Japan's well-organized defense either. Both teams had to attempt long shots which caused little trouble to the goalkeepers.

A pinpoint pass by Ahmad Al-Zboun in the 110th minute put Mohammad Khalil in a solo run. But the sloppy-paced forward was caught up by two defenders and shot high. As both teams seemed to run out of steam, the penalty shootout was inevitable.

Japan will play Bahrain in the semi-finals on August 3rd in Ji'nan.

Source: Xinhua