Japan's U-20 (under 20) national team won the quarterfinals after a difficult match, strongly showing its will to win.
Japan did not hide its confidence ahead of the semifinal match against Australia at Baoan Stadium in Shenzhen, China, on the 26th. Japan won the quarterfinals of the 2025 Asian U-20 Asian Cup against Iran at Shenzhen Youth Football Stadium in Shenzhen, China on the 23rd, 4-3 in a 1-1 situation after an extended blood fight. He advanced to the semifinals and qualified for the FIFA U-20 World Cup in September.
However, Japan's eyes were already looking beyond the semifinals. She has shown her commitment to the Asian champion. Japan's U-20 coach Yuzo Funakoshi said in an interview on the 24th, "I'm happy and relieved to advance to the World Cup." But I have a stronger desire to win than that."
Rui Araki, the Japanese goalkeeper who led the team to the quarterfinals, also expressed confidence. Louis said "I didn't think I'd lose if I went in front of the goal"Our goal is to go to the World Cup as Asian champions. I want to win with our strengths" strongly expressed his will to win the championship.
However, Japan's performance was not at an outstanding level suitable as a favorite. Unlike South Korea, which includes several players active in the K-League from the formation of the team, Japan included a large number of 17-year-old players, and was not overwhelmed in terms of performance, including a 2-2 draw against Syria in the group stage.
It was the same in the quarterfinals. struggled with Iranian aggression. He lost a point five minutes into the first half and was shaken. Iran's left-footed shot by Reza Gandhipur shook the Japanese net to take the lead in the counterattack. Fortunately, Ogura Kosei's mid-range shot balanced in the 30th minute of the first half, but he failed to score an additional goal until overtime. After the penalty shootout, I managed to reach the semi-finals.
Moreover, South Korea, which is scheduled to meet Australia in the semifinals, and South Korea, which is likely to face off in the final, have a history that is not inferior to Japan at all. Australia reached the quarterfinals with three wins in the group stage and also beat Iraq 3-2 in the quarterfinals. South Korea is also the No. 1 favorite with a record of 2 wins and 1 draw in the group stage and excellent scoring ability. For Japan, both the semifinals and the finals are not going to be easy.
Meanwhile, some Japanese media reported the reaction of Korean fans and even claimed that Korea recognized Japan's ability. Japan's Soccer Digest reported some of the Korean fans' reactions, saying, "'When the results of Japan and Iran were announced on the Korean website, some fans reacted as follows. It says "As expected, Asia's strongest.", He also claimed that the reaction was "Japan is the favorite" and "Japan is actually the winning team here". Japan's Football Zone added that it received excellent reviews even at a young age, saying, `Japan's players have been evaluated by fans as high school students.'
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
