Asian Cup: Tsukasa Shiotani fires Japan past Uzbekistan, Qatar’s Almoez Ali downs Saudi Arabia
- Samurai Blue through with nine points from nine
- Almoez Ali takes his tally to seven goals as Qatar stun Saudis
In Abu Dhabi, Almoez Ali took his tally to seven goals in just three games as Qatar beat political rivals Saudi Arabia 2-0, but Lebanon heartbreakingly failed to progress despite their 4-1 win over North Korea.
With the Asian Cup featuring a record 24 teams, the 36-game group stage finished with holders Australia facing a last-16 clash with Uzbekistan, while Qatar will play Iraq and Japan face the Saudis.
Hosts UAE play Kyrgyzstan, China are against Thailand, Iran have Oman, Son Heung-min’s South Korea face Bahrain and Jordan take on Vietnam.
Shiotani’s rocket ensured Japan finished with a perfect nine points at the top of group F as they beat Uzbekistan 2-1, despite changing 10 players from their previous game.
Eldor Shomurodov opened the scoring with a fine individual goal but the Uzbek lead lasted only three minutes before Newcastle United forward Yoshinori Muto’s header made it 1-1.
Japanese pressure early in the second half resulted in a thunderous winner from Shiotani, who plays his club football with Al Ain and unfurled a rippling strike just before the hour-mark.
