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Japan lift Asian Cup | It required working overtime but Japan’s reward was certainly well worth the wait as they defeated Australia 1-0 in the AFC Asian Cup final at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha.
An extra-time strike from substitute forward Tadanari Lee left the Socceroos needing an equalizer within 11 minutes but fatigue kicked in as Tim Cahill and crew failed to overturn the deficit.
With the massive triumph, Japan will now head to Brazil to compete in the 2013 Confederations Cup as the Asian champions at the expense of an Australian side that held the upper hand against them during the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.
As always, the battle between these two sides was intense from the kick-off whistle and given the high stakes, it was clear that neither was going to give up anything easily.
With scores staying level during regulation, referee Ravshan Irmatov indicated the commencement of another gruelling 30 minutes of football to decide the winner.
The Japanese were quick to bring in the quick legs as they replaced Ryoichi Maeda with eventual goal-scorer Lee after just eight minutes of extra-time. The Aussies responded by replacing the in-form Harry Kewell with Melbourne Victory forward Robbie Kruse.
Merely six minutes following Kewell’s departure from the game, Australia finally cracked and conceded to Lee, who plays his club football in Hiroshima. In a desperate attempt to turn things around, they quickly replaced the tired legs of Cahill too with Leeds United midfielder Neil Kilkenny.
It was all in vain, though, as time ran out on the Socceroos and their opponents were crowned the champions of Asia right before their eyes.
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