Japan beat UAE with ease

Persopress-Japan, who has won the last two Asian Cups, struggled in their opening game as they tied Qatar. This game was very important for them because Vietnam had 4 points and was leading the group. The match seemed pretty even in the first 20 minutes, and UAE even had the better chances, but Japan was able to take the lead in the 22nd minute after Takahara headed home Nakamura's cross. Japan doubled their lead after Takahara received the ball, turned, and fired the ball in the corner of the goal. This was Takahara's third goal, which means he is the leading goal scorer so far in the tournament. UAE looked like they were exhausted and it seemed like they wouldn't be able to come back in the game and things worsened in the 40th minute, when Endo was taken down in the box by the UAE goalie, giving Japan a penalty. Nakamura, who plays for Celtic and was Asian player of the year took care of the penalty, rifling the ball in the top corner. Japan dominated the 2nd half, passing the ball around and consuming time. This made the UAE players inpatient and it showed when Basher Saeed was sent off after a very bad foul. UAE was able to decrease the lead after Saeed Alkas was able to hit the ball past Kawaguchi. The game ended with the score of 3-1, which means Japan will probably come in 1st in their group and their will be a tight race between Qatar and Vietnam.