Discussions

Qatar Asian Cup title rivals Japan beat Shin Tae-yong's Indonesia in their final group game to clinch second place and advance to the round of 16. South Korea, who qualified for the round of 16 with the Japanese victory, will face Japan in the round of 16 if they clinch the group lead in their final group game.

Japan defeated Indonesia 3-1 in the final Group D match of the 2023 Asian Cup on Thursday at the Assoumama Stadium in Doha, Qatar. With the win, Japan improved to six points (2W-1D) and moved into second place behind Iraq, who beat Vietnam 3-2 in their final match at the same time to move to nine points after three straight wins.

Japan will face South Korea atop Group E for a spot in the quarterfinals on March 31. Jordan, South Korea, and Bahrain are currently battling for the top spot in Group E.

With Japan's win, South Korea will advance to the round of 16 regardless of the outcome of their final group game against Malaysia on Friday. Even if South Korea stays in third place with four points (one win, one draw), it will still advance to the round of 16 ahead of Group D's third-place finishers Indonesia (three points) and China (two points).

Strong favorites South Korea and Japan will meet in the Round of 16 in what could be a "preview of the final. South Korea is tied for second place with Jordan on points and two goals behind on goal difference. Even if Jordan wins its final game against Bahrain (three points), South Korea will top the group if it wins its final game against Malaysia by a large margin.

Should they advance to the round of 16 as group leaders, they will face a tough test against an in-form Japan. Japan dropped a 1-2 decision to Iraq in their previous group game, but dominated the game against Indonesia with an organized short-passing game and intense pressure.

Ayase Ueda (Feyenoord) converted a penalty kick (PK) just two minutes into the match for a 1-0 lead. Seven minutes into the second half, Ueda slotted home a low ball from the left flank by Doan Ritz (Freiburg) to make it 2-0.

Japan showed that they could afford to rest their main players by bringing on ace Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad) and defensive nucleus Takehiro Tomiyasu (Arsenal) in the 카지노사이트 37th minute. An own goal by defender Justin Hooper (Wolverhampton) in the 43rd minute widened the gap. Indonesia grabbed a late consolation goal from Sandy Walsh (KV Mechelen) in stoppage time, but were unable to hold on for the win.

Korea National Football Team head coach Jürgen Klinsmann traveled to the Assoumama Stadium with assistant coach Andreas Harechok to watch the match against Japan, who could face them in the round of 16.