DOHA // It was a compelling collision of speed and quickness versus strength and size, and for nearly two hours Asia's two best sides battered each other with their diametrically opposed styles.
Neither could establish superiority, Japan advancing on the ground and Australia through the air, and the unsatisfying prospect of another shoot-out hung over Khalifa Stadium like a dark cloud.
Finally, Japan pulled apart the exhausted Australian defence. Yuto Nagatomo, who had tormented Australia up the left flank almost from the first kick, found space in the corner, floated a long cross to Tadanari Lee.
The substitute forward hammered home a sublime, side-swinging left-footed volley in the 109th minute as Japan won the Asian Cup in memorable fashion, a 1-0 victory before 37,174 fans in Doha last night.
"It was the only position mistake we made and it was a very costly one," Holger Osieck, the Australia coach, said, claiming that fatigue was at the root of his players' failure to get tight on Lee.
"We are disappointed that we ended up second. We had our opportunities but unfortunately we couldn't convert. We had to be more clinical in our finishing. I feel sorry for the boys, they didn't get the reward for all their efforts."
It was Lee's first international goal for Japan, and it seems unlikely he will ever score a bigger one.
Japan have now won the biggest tournament on the planet's largest continent a record four times, all from the past six tournaments, a two-decade run of excellence that would seem to stamp the Japanese as Asia's best and most consistent side for a generation.
They were certainly worthy in this tournament. They twice came from behind to win games - against Qatar in the group stages and South Korea in the semi-finals.
Throughout, Alberto Zaccheroni's team showed cohesion and a fighting spirit worthy of champions.
"We played the entire tournament with great courage and always sought to impose our game," said Japan's Italian coach. "We have a very young team. The bench players have made a big contribution, just as Lee did today."
It was a bitter defeat for Australia. A member of the Asian Football Confederation only since 2006, the Australians and their "golden generation" core of Tim Cahill, Harry Kewell, Lucas Neill and Mark Schwarzer, fell just short of winning their first major championship when they conceded only their second goal in six matches.
It took a remarkable goal, and extra time, before they could be broken down by the indefatigable Japanese.
"We should have won the game," Cahill said. "We had more chances. But they won, and I'm not going to be bitter about it, but it would have meant so much to us to win this tournament."
Keisuke Honda, the Japan midfielder, expressed "great joy" at winning the tournament.
"We attack and always attack," he said, adding that their Italian coach, Zaccheroni, encouraged their press-ahead style.
Lee, an ethnic Korean who was born in Japan and received citizenship in 2007, came on in the 98th minute for Ryoichi Maeda, and he made little impact on the game until he won it.
He had charged down the middle of the pitch as Nagatoma, who plays for Cesena in Italy, beat Luke Wilkshire down the left side.
Lee was behind Sasa Ognenovski, Australia's massive central defender, as Nagatoma's cross came in, true but hard.
Rather than trap the ball in an attempt to set up a perfect shot, a tactic Japanese forwards had been trying without success for much of the night, the 25-year-old striker for Sanfrecce Hiroshima of the J-League let fly with a pivoting volley, which rocketed past the helpless Australian goalkeeper Schwarzer.
The first minutes established the tenor of the game. Japan's clear speed advantage prompted Australia to cede large chunks of the field and lots of possession, but the Japanese were nervous and tentative on those rare chances when they had a look at the goal against the stingiest defence in the tournament.
Meanwhile, when Australia came forward, they inevitably lobbed the ball into the box, and produced the better scoring chances with their superior skills in the air.
Australia's best early chances were all headers. The most dangerous came off a corner in the 19th minute. Cahill flicked David Carney's service toward goal, and Kewell used his head to deflect the shot a foot or so to the right, and the Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, who was outstanding throughout, did very well to fling his left hand behind him and parry the shot.
Kawashima twice saved Japan late in normal time, each time against Kewell.
In the 72nd minute Kewell flicked the ball over the head of Daiki Iwamusa and bore down on Kawashima, who deflected the shot with his right foot. Then, 13 minutes later, Kawashima bolted from his line to smother the ball an instant before Kewell could chip it over him.
The game went into extra time goalless, and Australia were left to rue those missed chances.
poberjuerge@thenational.ae
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Uefa Champions League play-off
First leg: Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Ajax v Dynamo Kiev
Second leg: Tuesday, August 28, 11pm (UAE)
Dynamo Kiev v Ajax
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
How they line up for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2 Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
3 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari
4 Max Verstappen, Red Bull
5 Kevin Magnussen, Haas
6 Romain Grosjean, Haas
7 Nico Hulkenberg, Renault
*8 Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull
9 Carlos Sainz, Renault
10 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes
11 Fernando Alonso, McLaren
12 Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren
13 Sergio Perez, Force India
14 Lance Stroll, Williams
15 Esteban Ocon, Force India
16 Brendon Hartley, Toro Rosso
17 Marcus Ericsson, Sauber
18 Charles Leclerc, Sauber
19 Sergey Sirotkin, Williams
20 Pierre Gasly, Toro Rosso
* Daniel Ricciardo qualified fifth but had a three-place grid penalty for speeding in red flag conditions during practice
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 55')
Man of the Match Allan (Everton)
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Destroyer
Director: Karyn Kusama
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Toby Kebbell, Sebastian Stan
Rating: 3/5
UAE release: January 31
WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars
