Japan, the “0th-ranked” Asian Cup, smashed Jordan, the opponent of Klinsmann’s second leg.
Japan won 6-1 in an exhibition match against Jordan compared to the 2023 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Qatar Asian Cup held on the 9th.
The match between Japan and Jordan was held as a closed-door warm-up match. Both teams won the previous warm-up match side by side, and expectations were high as it was a warm-up match just before the Asian Cup. In addition, Jordan beat Qatar, the host of the Asian Cup, 2-1, drawing keen attention.
However, it ended in a bland result. Japan crushed Jordan by scoring four goals in the first half alone. Itakura Go in the 14th minute, Keito Nakamura in the 19th minute, Jordan’s own goal in the 32nd minute, and Takumi Minamino in the 45th minute.
It was the same in the second half. Starting with Takuma Asano at the 71st minute of the second half, Daizen Maeda scored a goal in the 79th minute. Jordan managed to avoid a scoreless defeat with Saleh Latep’s goal just before the end of the match.
Japan has thus won 10 straight A-matches. After a 6-0 victory over El Salvador in June 2023, they captured 6-1 to Jordan, following Peru 4-1, Germany 4-1, Turkiye 4-2, Canada 4-1, Tunisia 2-0, Myanmar 5-0, Syria 5-0, and Thailand 5-0.
Japan scored 45 goals during its 10-game winning streak. Then, it gave up just six goals. Even though the A-match team was not weak, the team displayed overwhelming performance. In all of the recent four games against Asian teams, the team garnered more than five goals in total.
Japan is the 0th candidate to win the Asian Cup. Korea, led by Jürgen Klinsmann, is closely following them. However, the prospects for the Asian Cup are all predicting Japan to win the title.
Qatar’s media Al-Qas TV recently predicted that South Korea and Japan will meet in the final through a preview show for the Asian Cup. However, the final scenario is that Japan beats South Korea to win in the final.
Overseas betting firm LegalBet also picked Japan as the top candidate to win the Asian Cup. The probability of winning the title is 3.5 to 1, followed by South Korea (5.5 to 1).
The Asian Cup final between South Korea and Japan is a matchup that everyone expects and expects. Coach Klinsmann also expected a showdown with Japan when he announced the final 26-member roster late last year.
“Japan is our rival. It will be a special game,” Klinsmann said. “The Netherlands and England were rivals during the German team, and when I was in the U.S., I experienced a special relationship with Mexico. I can’t wait to see because I know what a rivalry game is,” he said. “Japan is an opponent that I can meet in the process of holding a competition. I hope to see them in the final. I am constantly watching their matches. Of course, I am also watching matches in other rival countries besides Japan.”
Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan have never met in the final of the Asian Cup. Their latest Asian Cup showdown is the semifinals of the 2011 Qatar World Cup, and they lost 0-3 after a close penalty shootout after a 2-2 tie. 토토사이트