In the U23 Asian Cup, Japan U23 team defeated Iraq U23 team with a score of 2-0 and successfully advanced to the final and will compete with Uzbekistan U23 team for the title. In this match, a breakaway goal by Shindai Hosoya was the key to Japan's victory.
At the beginning of the match, Japan U23 team showed a strong desire to attack. They kept creating pressure on the Iraqi U23 team's defense through precise passing and tacit coordination. In the first half of the match, Japan created many threatening attacking chances, but the Iraqi defense was also quite solid and didn't leave too many chances for Japan.
However, in the 28th minute, Japan finally broke the deadlock. Fujita sent Rukiakima through a long ball to find Hosoya Shindai, who stopped the ball in the penalty area and turned to shoot in one fluid motion, putting the ball into the Iraqi goal. The goal boosted Japan's morale and they continued to keep the pressure on Iraq.
In the second half of the match, the Japanese team still maintained their strong offensive momentum. In the 43rd minute, Ryotaro Araki received a good pass from his teammate and pushed the goal with one touch to help Japan increase the score to 2-0. This goal put Iraq in a more passive situation and they tried to find chances through counter-attacks, but Japan's defense was quite solid and didn't leave any opportunities for their opponents to take advantage of.
In the end, the Japan U23s defeated the Iraqi U23s by a score of 2-0 to advance to the final.
