AFC Futsal Asian Cup
The victory was made even more impressive by the fact that Japan defeated 12-time champions Islamic Republic of Iran in a classic final at the Saad Al Abdullah Hall.
It was the perfect ending for a tournament that made a return after four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
#ACFutsal2022 | Moments
Japan, having previously won the title in 2006, 2012 and 2014, got off to a rocky start after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening Group D match.
The East Asian side, however, showed tremendous grit to bounce back with wins over Korea Republic (6-0) and Vietnam (2-0) to advance to the quarter-finals.
Iran faced no issues in navigating Group C, registering impressive victories over Indonesia (5-0), Chinese Taipei (10-1) and Lebanon (9-0).
Japan had to be at their resilient best again in the quarter-finals, having to come from a goal down to beat knockout stage debutants Indonesia 3-2.
For Iran, it was another serene outing as they defeated Vietnam 8-1 to advance to the semi-finals.
Up next for Japan were an Uzbekistan side who had advanced to the semi-finals with a perfect record of four wins, with Ilkhomjon Khamroev giving the Central Asian side the lead in the first half.
Japan upped their tempo in the second half and their endeavour was rewarded with goals from Arthur Oliveira and Sora Kanazawa for a 2-1 win and a 10th appearance in the final.
Iran were too strong for Thailand in their semi-final encounter with skipper Hossein Tayebi, Mohammadhossein Derakhshani (2) and Moslem Oladghobad (2) securing them a 5-0 win.
With Uzbekistan defeating Thailand 8-2 in the third-place playoff serving as the appetiser, the final got off to an explosive start with Iran pressing a defensively resilient Japan.
Iran's aggression was rewarded in the 15th minute with Saied Ahmad Abbasi (pictured below) finding the back of the net.
Japan, having also trailed in their earlier two knockout stage matches, were unperturbed and their response was almost immediate, with Kazuya Shimizu drawing them level a minute later.
A moment of pure brilliance by Arthur Oliveira saw the skipper putting Japan ahead through a free-kick in the 27th minute.
Iran fought back and had it not been for Japan goalkeeper Guilherme Kuromoto’s heroics, they could have drawn level on several occasions.
Instead, it was Japan who went further ahead when Abbasi inadvertently sent the ball into his own net with 30 seconds left on the clock.
Iran pulled one back through Alireza Javan Shahkali but there was no denying Japan a fourth AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ title.
Kuromoto was named the Best Goalkeeper, while Iran's Moslem Oladghobad and Hossein Tayebi won the Most Valuable Player and Yili Top Scorer awards respectively. Uzbekistan won the Fairplay Award.
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