AFC U17 Asian Cup
The win was Japan’s second in a row in Group B with Anthony Motosuna giving them a 37th minute lead only for Zhao Songyuan to level the scores three minutes into the second half, but Kitahara struck on the hour mark to maintain his side’s perfect start to the competition.
Wan Xiang saw a pair of efforts blocked by the Japanese defence in the opening 11 minutes while Takafuku Satomi’s free kick was off target six minutes later as the teams sized one another up throughout the early exchanges.
Yoshiki Fujimoto went closest to putting Japan in front in the 32nd minute when he was released behind the Chinese defence by Koki Kurahashi’s pass from deep but the shot flashed across the face of goal.
With eight minutes left in the half, Japan went ahead when Satomi’s corner from the right dropped into the heart of the penalty area and Motosuna smashed his right foot shot into the roof of the net.
Group B: China PR v Japan
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The second half was only three minutes old when China PR pulled level. Zhao Songyuan was released by Wan Xiang and, after holding off Kaiji Chonan, the forward angled his shot past Kosei Oshita.
Kurahashi was denied in the 54th minute when he threatened to put the Japanese back in front but, by the hour mark, Ono’s team had retaken the lead.
Satomi won the ball deep in Chinese territory before feeding Eito Takaki, who shuttled possession to Kitahara and he calmly slotted his shot past Qin Ziniu from 20 yards out to score his third goal of the tournament as Japan prevailed.
