Coach Hajime Moriyasu admitted to wrong instructions, causing the Japanese team to suffer a bitter defeat.

"The Japanese team has prepared very well over the past two days for the match against Iran. As the head coach, I am very disappointed that we could not win. We could not turn everyone's efforts into the expected results. Part of the reason for the loss was that our substitutions in the second half were too slow and ineffective, despite high expectations," said coach Hajime Moriyasu.

Coach Hajime Moriyasu (right) and Japanese players after losing to Iran

Coach Hajime Moriyasu sent two stars Kaoru Mitoma and Takumi Minamino to replace Takefusa Kubo and Daizen Maeda from the 67th minute, hoping they would create a breakthrough in the Japanese team's attack. However, Mitoma had just returned from injury, and Minamino played out of place, causing the "Blue Samurai" to be stuck.

Before that, in the first half, the Japanese team played closely and controlled the game, quickly taking a 1-0 lead thanks to midfielder Hidemasa Morita's goal in the 28th minute. In the second half, the Iranian team regained control of the game thanks to the aggressiveness of star Sardar Azmoun and captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh, in the context of the absence of number 1 striker Mehdi Taremi due to a penalty card.

In the 55th minute, Mohammad Mohebi equalized the score 1-1 for Iran thanks to a beautiful assist from Sardar Azmoun. Sardar Azmoun himself then missed the chance to increase the score to 2-1 for the Iranian team when VAR disallowed the goal for offside.

At the end of the match, the pressure of the Iranian team was rewarded when they were awarded a penalty. From the 11m mark, Alireza Jahanbakhsh accurately scored the decisive goal to help "Team Melli" (the nickname of the Iranian team) win 2-1 to enter the semi-finals of the Asian Cup 2023.

Iran team (white shirt) deservedly won with an impressive second half performance.

Meanwhile, the Japanese team, from being the number 1 candidate for the championship, had to leave early in the quarter-finals. This is the third consecutive Asian Cup that the "Samurai Blue" cannot win, increasing their previous record of 4 championships in 1992, 2000, 2004, 2011.

"Now that the Asian Cup is over, we will prepare for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, strengthen our strength to win every match and qualify for the finals. I will have to work harder, improve the strength of the Japanese team to aim for a bigger goal, which is to become the world's number 1 team. That is my passion and what I really want to do," coach Hajime Moriyasu affirmed.

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