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Alireza Jahanbakhsh scored a 96th-minute penalty to give Iran a dramatic 2-1 win over Japan on Saturday and set up an Asian Cup semi-final against holders Qatar or Uzbekistan....
Captain Wataru Endo warned that Japan's Asian Cup rivals will "exploit" their weaknesses after they wobbled before reaching the quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over Bahrain on Wednesday....
If Japan, South Korea or Australia are to win the Asian Cup in Qatar they will have to do it the hard way in the face of hostile crowds roaring on their rivals from the Middle East....
Japan's shock defeat to Iraq and South Korea's late draw with Jordan make it harder than ever to predict who will lift the Asian Cup as the group stage approaches its climax....
Palestine conceded a goal after just 64 seconds in a 4-1 loss to Iran at the Asian Cup on Sunday, while tournament favourites Japan survived a scare before beating Vietnam 4-2....
Two-goal Takumi Minamino admitted he was "surprised" by Vietnam after Asian Cup favourites Japan survived a scare in winning 4-2 to open their campaign in Qatar....
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu demanded even more from his team after they thrashed Myanmar 5-0 on Thursday to get their bid to reach an eighth straight World Cup off to an emphatic start....
Japan humiliated Euro 2024 hosts Germany 4-1 in a friendly international on Saturday, piling the pressure on struggling coach Hansi Flick....
Hansi Flick on Thursday left regulars Timo Werner and Leon Goretzka out of the Germany squad for September's friendlies, while Brighton's Pascal Gross received his first call-up....
Rafael Borre scored a spectacular overhead winner as Colombia came from behind to beat Japan 2-1 in a friendly in Osaka on Tuesday....
Takuma Nishimura came off the bench to secure a 1-1 draw for Japan against Uruguay in a friendly on Friday, equalising seconds after entering the action....
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu will stay in his job after leading the Samurai Blue to the last 16 at the World Cup in Qatar, the Japan Football Association said Wednesday....
Japan will put their World Cup heartbreak behind them and focus on becoming Asian champions for a fifth time, captain Maya Yoshida said after the team returned home on Wednesday....
The World Cup in Qatar has already delivered plenty of major shocks but as it moves into the knockout phase the top contenders including Brazil and France have plenty to prove....
Spain staggered through to the World Cup last 16 on Thursday despite a 2-1 defeat by Japan, who remarkably won Group E on a rollercoaster night which saw four-time champions Germany eliminated....
Luis Enrique said Spain will not count their chickens before they are hatched when they face Japan on Thursday, aiming to win and qualify for the World Cup knockout phase....
Costa Rica snatched a dramatic late winner against Japan on Sunday to blow their World Cup group wide open and ease the intense pressure on embattled Germany....
Mellowing with age is not part of the plan for Japan veteran Yuto Nagatomo, whose flame-red hair and wild celebrations are helping to fuel the Blue Samurai's fire in Qatar....
Japan sashayed through Germany's defence to win their opening World Cup game but captain Maya Yoshida said the Blue Samurai cannot afford to "dance badly" against Costa Rica on Sunday....
Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu was given a surprise shower by a pitch sprinkler on Thursday but it did nothing to dampen his spirits after his team's stunning victory over Germany....
Germany manager Hansi Flick warned on Thursday that no member of his starting XI was safe ahead of their crucial weekend clash with Spain after a shock 2-1 loss to Japan....
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