AL THUMAMA, Qatar — Anticipation. That’s what clung in the air at Al Thumama Stadium in the half an hour before Ritsu Doan put Japan on the path to a 3-1 win over Bahrain and a spot in the Asian Cup quarterfinals.
It was a prolepsis of a Japanese lead that felt like it was inevitable but somewhat demurely earned; Doan’s strike the catalyst for a professional win in which his side rarely got out of third gear and, in doing so, let Bahrain hang around longer than they needed to.
When Takefusa Kubo struck in the 49th minute, they were cruising — right up until Ayase Ueda‘s attempts to defend a corner saw him inadvertently head the ball out of Zion Suzuki‘s hands and force the keeper to spill it into his net in the 64th.
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As a vocal Bahraini contingent in the stands attempted to rally their side to a famous upset, Ueda was forced to make amends by driving into the box and smashing an effort home in the 72nd to finally put the game to bed.
Perhaps it all, in a way, was reflective of Japan’s Asian Cup as a whole to this point.
The Samurai Blue’s collection of talent is the best at this tournament, it’s enough to win them football games even if they look nowhere near close to imperious. But we’re still looking to be blown away and seeing nervy moments from the tournament favourites.
Across the opening 30 minutes of Wednesday’s contest, there were darting runs, moments of skill, flashes of inspiration, and all those other little things one would expect from the side widely regarded as Asia’s best. But also nothing to show for it, nor even a moment wherein they had come agonisingly close to doing so — those in blue content to knock on Bahrain’s door without attempting to break it down.
Japan’s best chance had come not from open play but from a corner, when Kubo swung a delivery in from the left and onto the head of Ueda, only for his powerful header to be palmed over the bar by keeper Ibrahim Lutfalla — with replays showing his acrobatic leap had perhaps made the save look a bit more spectacular than it needed to be.
And as long as this paradigm remained in effect, Bahrain remained in the game, even if it felt like they soon wouldn’t.
The offside flag ultimately rendered them moot, but two moments of broken play that sprung Abdulla Yusuf Helal to get in behind Japan’s lines and blast wide spoke to the danger that existed in these circumstances.
The Samurai Blue were on top. They were better. But it would take but a single moment of chaos to change that.
Then in the 29th minute, Suzuki was made to work in the Japanese goal, diving down low to his left to deny a long-range effort from Ali Madan, who had been found in a yard of space by Mohamed Marhoon. Perhaps that provided the spark for Japan to remind them that eventually, they’d actually have to take the game by the scruff of the neck, and finally produce their second shot on target of the game and, with it, convert their control of the ebbs and flows of the game into actual damage on the scoresheet.
After an extended period of possession, Wataru Endo squared the ball to Seiya Maikuma, getting forward from his position at right back and finding himself in acres of space atop the Bahraini penalty area. Hitting the ball like it owed him money, he drove in a long-range piledriver that clattered off the post and back into play and the waiting feet of Doan, who had caught the defence flat-footed and was able to pounce on the rebound and finish.
It had been coming and by the time the first half ended, Hajime Moriyasu’s side was clearly in the ascendency. They had played 102 passes in Bahrain’s half, compared to the 27 Muharabi Dilmun had managed in theirs. They had got the ball into the final third 35 times compared to 18 and, strikingly, got the ball into their opponent’s penalty area 24 times, compared to just the three of Bahrain.
The most pressing concern heading into the break for Moriyasu was probably the health of Reo Hatate, who limped off in the 35th minute and was replaced by Hidemasa Morita.
The lead was then doubled just four minutes into the second stanza when a horrific error from Bahrain’s Hazza Ali saw him give the ball straight to Kubo as he attempted to dig out a tackle inside his penalty area. If it had been a teammate who found the Real Sociedad man, he would have been miles offside, and indeed the assistant referee’s flag was initially raised. But because he’d been found by a man in red, the goal was allowed to stand.
But rather than kill the game off, Suzuki and Ueda conspired to gift Bahrain a light in the darkness, somehow failing to communicate as they both went to collect the former’s save of a Sayed Baqer header and put the ball in their net — the latest in a string of calamitous moments at this Asian Cup for the Japanese custodian, who has also been forced to deal with sickening racial abuse on social media.
Becoming the first striker brought to this tournament by Moriyasu to start multiple games, Ueda at least moved to quickly redeem himself — and silence the Bahraini faithful — when he swerved to face goal while surrounded by three defenders, turned on the jets to get himself out of that phonebox, and drive forward to finish between the legs of Lutfalla. It was a good finish, and a strong audition to earn a third start in the coming days.
They should have had a fourth when Takuma Asano burst in behind Bahrain’s lines in the 93rd minute, only for Lutfalla to get down low and make the save — one of a string of moments wherein a more lethal side would have turned the game into a blowout.
Indeed, it was professional. But not spectacular.
You can see that a titan exists in this Japanese squad, but it hasn’t been freed yet. Maybe we’ll get that when they square off with the winner of Iran and Syria’s final round of 16 clash on Saturday at the Education City Stadium. Or maybe we won’t.
They’ll also be sweating on the health of Ko Itakura, who twice required treatment and ended the game moving gingerly. But given that no team has found a dominating best at this tournament, maybe they simply don’t need to — the talent assembled enough to carry the day anyway.
