The UAE will face Japan in the Asian Cup quarter-finals after the champions secured a 2-0 victory over Jordan to progress top of Group D.
A goal in each half from Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa were enough to lead Japan to victory, and with it, a last-eight showdown with Mahdi Ali’s side on Friday in Sydney.
Talisman Honda snapped up a rebound on 24 minutes after Shinji Okazaki’s low drive had been well saved by Jordan goalkeeper Amer Shafi to net his third goal in three games and take the Blue Samurai through as comfortable group winners.
Kagawa, largely ineffectual up to that point, added a second from close range eight minutes from time, capping Japan’s third straight victory.
Honda was Japan’s heartbeat throughout the match, watched by 25,000 in Melbourne including Japan’s tennis star Kei Nishikori, competing at the Australian Open across the road.
Shortly after putting Japan in front, he whipped in a corner which defender Masato Morishige met with a fierce header that forced an acrobatic tip-over from the busy Shafi.
Japan had the ball in the net after just 10 minutes, only for Takashi Inui’s bullet volley to be ruled out after Okazaki was adjudged to have taken the ball out of play before crossing.
Honda had another goal disallowed for a questionable offside shortly before the hour mark and smashed a shot against the post in the last minute in a livewire performance.
Makoto Hasebe, making his 56th appearance as captain, bossed the midfield, constantly breaking up play to allow Honda and Yuto Nagatomo the freedom to run riot.
Japan, who won a record fourth Asian Cup by edging Australia in the 2011 final, thrashed Palestine 4-0 and beat Iraq 1-0 in their first two games and are slight favourites to lift the trophy again.
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