In the first semi-final of the 2023 AFC U17 Championship, Japan U17 easily defeated Iran U17 thanks to goals from Yada (10'), Mochizuki (25'), and Sato (74').

Although U17 Iran dominated the first few minutes, U17 Japan was the team that opened the scoring first. In the 10th minute, after an attack on the right wing by Kawamura, the ball reached Yada's feet, and this player accurately tapped in to score for U17 Japan.

Japan U17 is the first team to win a ticket to the final of the 2023 AFC U17 Championship. Photo: AFC

About 10 minutes later, U17 Iran had a chance to equalize after a mistake by the U17 Japan goalkeeper, but the striker of the West Asian team missed the target. Unable to score, U17 Iran had to pay the price. In the 25th minute, Mochizuki scored the second goal for U17 Japan.

Conceding a quick 2-goal lead, U17 Iran was forced to attack to find an equalizer, but still lacked precision in finishing. In the 74th minute, U17 Japan had an excellent free kick arrangement, before Sato fired a low shot into the far corner, raising the score to 3-0 for the "Land of the Rising Sun" team.

The score of 3-0 was maintained until the final whistle, U17 Japan won the ticket to the final and is getting closer to the opportunity to successfully defend the 2023 U17 Asian Championship. The opponent of U17 will be the winner of the semi-final match between U17 Korea and U17 Uzbekistan.

Previously, Japan U17, along with 3 teams that reached the semi-finals of the U17 Asian tournament, including Korea U17, Uzbekistan U17 and Iran U17, became the Asian representatives to attend the U17 World Cup Finals.

Starting lineup:

Japan U17: Taisei Kambayashi; Kotaro Honda, Keita Kosugi, Shuto Nagano, Shotaro Shibata; Ryunosuke Yada, Gakuto Kawamura, Daiki Miyagawa; Gaku Nawata, Rento Takaoka, Kohei Mochizuki.

U17 Iran: Arsha Shakouri, Nima Andarz, Hesam Nafari Nogourani, Erfan Darvishaali, Yaghoob Barajeh, Abolfazl Zoleikhaei, Amirmohammad Razzaghinia, Abolfazl Zamani, Reza Ghand Pour, Mohammad Askari, Samir Hoboobati.

MR. TIEN