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Ozeki: Team spirit helped Japan claim vital point against Syria

Ozeki: Team spirit helped Japan claim vital point against Syria

Shenzhen: Japan’s Yuto Ozeki praised his team’s collective spirit following their hard-fought 2-2 draw with Syria in their AFC U20 Asian Cup™ China 2025 Group D tie on Monday.
Syria took a surprise lead in the 10th minute before Ozeki levelled the score. However, the West Asian side regained the advantage through Ahmad Soufi going into the break before substitute Rento Takaoka came to Japan’s rescue to snatch a point for the 2016 winners. 
#AFCU20 | Group D : Syria 2 - 2 Japan

#AFCU20 | Group D : Syria 2 - 2 Japan

“I’m happy that we took a point from this match as it puts us closer to qualifying for the knockout stage,” said Ozeki, who plays his club football with Kawasaki Frontale.

“We needed to work hard as Syria scored the first goal. It’s a team effort which made the difference. Our style of play allowed me to score the opener and it was a relief for us and for myself as we needed that motivation.”
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Japan head coach Yuzo Funakoshi echoed Ozeki’s sentiments, adding that his charges showed character against a battling Syria.

“Syria were tough opponents,” said Funakoshi. “We expected them to challenge every ball and that’s what they did. They made it difficult for us in the beginning. We equalised after the first goal but they struck again before half-time.

“We played with a three-man backline and had to change our formation in the second period. Syria stayed compact but were also dangerous on the counter-attacks. But we managed to snatch a point and that is the most important thing.”
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Despite putting on an impressive display, the stalemate left Syria on the brink of elimination with head coach Mohamad Kwid ruing their missed chances.

“The match was tactical from both teams, we were playing with the calculation of winning only, because a draw would have made us enter into complicated calculations,” said Kwid.
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"Today we were good, better than we were in the first match against the Korea Republic. The team was disciplined, we attacked and scored, but there were lapses in defence, especially in the last minutes when we conceded the equaliser.”

Syria must beat Thailand on Thursday and hope Japan lose to Korea Republic to stand a chance of advancing. 

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