Time out! U23 Japan won 5-0 against U23 Paraguay, including a double from two players Mito and Fujio. Impressive debut of the Asian representative.
Minute 87: In!!! Paraguay's U23 squad pushed forward and had to pay the price. Fujio received the ball comfortably, with enough time and space to score the 5th goal for Japan U23.
Minute 82: In!!! From his teammate's free kick, Shota Fujio chose to hit the ball with his head. The ball went dangerously so that the U23 Paraguay goalkeeper could not stop it. The score is 4-0.
Minute 76: Japan's U23 defense lost focus, Alan Nunez had a chance to shoot but goalkeeper Leo Kokubo stopped it in time.
Minute 70: In!!! With a relaxed spirit and active movement, the Japanese U23 players have a lot of space. Rihito Yamamoto received the ball outside the penalty area and scored a decisive cross-angle shot, increasing the score to 3-0.
Minute 65: No entry! Mito continued with a curling shot close to the penalty area, the ball went wide of the goal.
Minute 63: In!!! U23 Japan forced the opponent back, Mito headed directly from his teammate's pass. 2-0 for U23 Japan.
Minute 55: 10 minutes into the second half, U23 Paraguay tried to attack and put pressure on but it wasn't enough. Marcelo Fernandez had a chance from a corner but shot into the side of the net.
01:08: Round 2 begins.
Round 1 ends. U23 Japan leads U23 Paraguay 1-0.
Minutes 45+6: Sato had a chance to help Japan U23 enter the break with a safe gap, but the shot hit the goalkeeper.
The first half has 7 minutes of overtime.
Minute 35: U23 Paraguay did not have a single shot. It's too difficult for the South American representative to play without players.
Minute 25: Paraguay U23's Wilder Viera received a red card. The referee reviewed this player's foul with VAR before making a decision.
Minute 21: Another chance for Japan U23. Koki Saito escaped to receive a pass from his teammate, but the shot went across the goal.
Minute 19: In!!! From the ball on the left wing, Shunsuke Mito received the ball back from his teammate, calmly handled it and finished when another teammate blocked the opposing defender. U23 Japan leads 1-0.
Minute 15: Japan U23 controlled the ball 72% in the first 15 minutes. The Asian representative coordinated well on the ball but was not effective when approaching the penalty area.
Minute 5: Japan U23 has a dangerous opportunity. Sekine Hiroki headed in from a corner, but the Paraguay U23 goalkeeper reflexively saved.
00:00: The match starts.
Information before the match
The Japanese U23 team impressed with their 8th consecutive Olympic qualification. However, their journey to the 2024 Olympics soon encountered obstacles when clubs refused to house stars like Takefusa Kubo and Zion Suzuki.
Coach Go Oiwa called up a squad of 18 players, none of whom were older than 23 years old, while team director Masakuni Yamamoto called the selection process "difficult".
U23 Japan won tickets to the Olympics through the U23 Asian Championship - winning the final after winning against U23 Uzbekistan.
At the Olympics, Japan has had quite good results, coming in third in 1968, twice finishing in fourth place, of which, 3 years ago, they lost to U23 Mexico 1-3 in the World Cup. bronze medal match.
Japan U23 's 2024 Olympic journey begins with a match against Paraguay U23, the team whose only time they touched an Olympic medal was the runner-up in Athens 20 years ago.
What's interesting is that that year, they beat Japan 4-3 in the opening match. This year is also the first time representatives from South America have qualified for the Olympics since then, through winning the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament championship.
However, U23 Paraguay's performance since then has not been good, with 1 win and 2 losses in friendly matches.
Paraguay's U23 squad will be more experienced with 36-year-old goalkeeper Gatito Fernandez, and defender Fabian Balbuena who has 45 caps for the national team.
