AFC Champions League Elite
A seventh clean sheet of their season saw the debutants advancing to the final, with defending champions Al Ahli Saudi FC their opponents on Saturday, a tie Kuroda is relishing.
#ACLElite | Semi-finals : FC Machida Zelvia (JPN) 1-0 Shabab Al Ahli (UAE)
“This is the first time that Machida Zelvia are challenging in Asia and the players are performing really well,” said a jubilant Kuroda.
“Today’s opponents were great to play against and I’m so pleased to reach the final for the fans who came to the stadium as well as those back home.
“We had intended to play compactly and press in the middle, the players stayed focused till the end and that was great. To keep a clean sheet is our motto and we managed to achieve that, so it gives us confidence.”
“Today’s opponents were great to play against and I’m so pleased to reach the final for the fans who came to the stadium as well as those back home.
“We had intended to play compactly and press in the middle, the players stayed focused till the end and that was great. To keep a clean sheet is our motto and we managed to achieve that, so it gives us confidence.”
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Yuki Soma’s 12th minute strike after a loose backpass from Bogdan Planic was enough to secure the win, with Kuroda keen to see their run continuing against Al Ahli Saudi.
“(Fellow Japanese side) Vissel (Kobe) suffered a disappointing defeat and we would like to play our best in the final for them as well.
“The atmosphere will be immense, so we have to keep our composure. We would like to keep our high level performance and not be too focused on the opponents.”
“(Fellow Japanese side) Vissel (Kobe) suffered a disappointing defeat and we would like to play our best in the final for them as well.
“The atmosphere will be immense, so we have to keep our composure. We would like to keep our high level performance and not be too focused on the opponents.”
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There was disappointment for Paulo Sousa and Shabab Al Ahli after the Emirati side came so close to reaching the final, with the Portuguese tactician believing his players did not deserve to be out of the competition.
“We deserved to be in the final but we are not,” said Sousa. “There was no surprise in how Machida played. We were expecting them to put pressure but we conceded from a mistake.”
“We deserved to be in the final but we are not,” said Sousa. “There was no surprise in how Machida played. We were expecting them to put pressure but we conceded from a mistake.”
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