The Blue Samurai of Japan put in a stunning performance in the quarterfinals of this year's U23 Asian Cup, sweeping past Iraq 2-0 thanks to goals from Shindai Hosoya and Ryotaro Araki to lock up a spot in the Paris men's Olympic soccer tournament.
Prior to the match, Japan skillfully used the extra day off as a way to take absolute advantage of both offense and defense. In particular, Fujita's precise passing upfield was impressive.
Fujita will undoubtedly be a key player for Japan in this final, where the calmness of the midfield commander will be crucial against a tough opponent like Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan, also not to be underestimated, made history in the Olympic soccer tournament with a 0-0 draw against Indonesia. In the match, they were solid in offense and defense, showing great strength.
It's worth noting that they have scored 14 goals and conceded none in the tournament, largely due to the fact that they have stuck to their team's style of play and avoided conceding the first goal of the game. Nauchaf's courageous performance has posed a huge challenge to the Japanese defense.
Both sides have experienced a qualitative leap in their progression, beating a number of tough opponents before the final. However, I am confident that Japan will be able to seal the deal in overtime and successfully defeat Uzbekistan.
