*This content was translated by AI.
Japan, which formed a national team of under-21 players and played in the 2026 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) 23 (U-23) Asian Cup, was the first to confirm its advance to the quarterfinals.
Japan, led by head coach Oiwa Ko, defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) 3-0 in the second Group B match of the tournament at King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the 10th (Korea time).
Japan, which previously defeated Syria 5-0, won all two group matches (6 points) and confirmed its advance to the quarterfinals as No. 1 in the group regardless of the result of the final match against Qatar (2 losses), which was already confirmed to be eliminated.
In this tournament, 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four teams, and the first and second places in each group will be in the quarterfinals tournament.
Japan confirmed its advance to the quarterfinals ahead of either the UAE or Syria, as the second-ranked UAE and the third-ranked Syria (more than three points) face off in the final match, with Japan accumulating six points.
On top of that, the group stage of this tournament will determine the winner first if the points are the same, but even if Japan loses to Qatar and ties with the UAE or Syria, it has been confirmed to be the top of the group as it leads both teams in the winner's win.
Japan, which ranked first in Group B, will clash with second place in Group A in the quarterfinals. Vietnam, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Kyrgyzstan belong to Group A.
If South Korea, which belongs to Group C in the group league, passes second place, it can meet Japan in the semifinals, and if South Korea tops the group, it could face off against South Korea and Japan in the final.
Japan broke the balance with the first goal of Nwadike Uche Bryan (Doyin Yokohama University) in the first five minutes of the first half, followed by Yuto Ozeki (Kawasaki Frontale) in the 37th minute of the first half and Shunsuke Furuya (Tokyo International University) in the 37th minute of the second half.
Japan led by a large margin of 60.6%-39.4% not only in scores but also in ball possession, and overwhelmed its opponents by 16-3 in the number of shots and 7-0 in the number of shots on target.
In the previous 5-0 victory over Syria, Japan recorded 19-3 in the number of shots and 9-1 in effective shots.
Japan's performance in this tournament is even more noticeable because it played a two-year-old U-21 national team unlike other teams, including South Korea.
In fact, Japan formed a national team with players born in 2005-2007, and eight of the 23 players were filled with university players. Yutaka Michiwaki, who was born in 2006, is the only European player who plays for SK Beren in Belgium.
Japan has brought the U-21 national team to the tournament because it is preparing for the Los Angeles Olympic qualifiers and finals two years later, not this year's AFC U-23 Asian Cup or the Aichi and Nagoya Asian Games in September.
Like the Asian Games, the age of men's soccer at the Olympics is limited to U-23, and the players born in 2005-2007 who participated in the U-23 Asian Cup will naturally become the U-23 national team two years later.
Japan looked two years later at the AFC U-23 Asian Cup, which does not also qualify for the Olympics, and participated in the U-21 national team to refine its organizational power. Japan was also a member of the U-21 national team during the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup, when South Korea was completely defeated by Japan 0-3 in the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, South Korea, led by head coach Lee Min-sung, advanced to the top of the group by beating Lebanon 4-2 in the second round on the 10th after drawing 0-0 in the first group match with Iran earlier. Lee Min-sung will decide whether he will advance to the quarterfinals through the final group match against Uzbekistan at 8:30 p.m. on the 13th.
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*This content was translated by AI.
