Riyadh, January 16 (QNA) - Japan defeated Jordan 4-2 on penalties to advance to the AFC U23 Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2026 semi-finals, with the last eight tie having ended 1-1 after extra-time at the King Abdullah Sports City Hall Stadium on Friday. 

Goalkeeper Rui Araki was the hero, saving two spot-kicks as the defending champions stayed on track for a third title. It was heartbreak for a Jordan side who went toe-to-toe with the East Asians only to come up just short.

Go Oiwa reverted to his first-choice lineup, with Kosuke Ogura the only survivor from the side that played Qatar in their final group match while Moamen Al Sakhet, Odeh Fakhoury and Ali Azaizeh formed a three-pronged attack for Omar Najhi's Jordan.

Two-time winners Japan adopted a high press from the start and gave the West Asians an early scare when Yuto Ozeki opened up the Jordanian defence to set up Brian Nwadik, who toe-poked the ball into the arms of keeper Abdel Rahman Al Talalga.

Go Oiwa reverted to his first-choice lineup, with Kosuke Ogura the only survivor from the side that played Qatar in their final group match while Moamen Al Sakhet, Odeh Fakhoury and Ali Azaizeh formed a three-pronged attack for Omar Najhi's Jordan.

Two-time winners Japan adopted a high press from the start and gave the West Asians an early scare when Yuto Ozeki opened up the Jordanian defence to set up Brian Nwadik, who toe-poked the ball into the arms of keeper Abdel Rahman Al Talalga.

Azaizeh, however, did no such thing with his next attempt, finishing with a stunning shot after Mahmoud Khrouba orchestrated the move from his own half - streaming down the left flank before exchanging passes with Fakhoury and then laying the ball for his captain to strike his fourth goal of the tournament. The goal left Japan stunned as they struggled to respond with Jordan comfortably fending them off to take their lead into the break. 

Japan had to stave off an aggressive Jordan in the opening minutes of the second half before hitting the West Asian side on the break for the equaliser in the 50th. Rei Umeki led the breakaway, cutting into space through the centre to set up Shusuke Furuya, whose grounded effort was turned into the back of the net by Jordan's Anas Al Khab.

Jordan looked to respond immediately, with Azaizeh seeing his effort from inside the area blocked, while Fakhoury and Khrouba had their attempts saved by Araki. The West Asian side were let off the hook in the 67th minute when Al Talalga clashed with Furuya, with the referee pointing to the spot but reversing his decision after a VAR review. Azaizeh had a chance to seal the win for Jordan in the 86th minute following a fast break, but the forward pulled his effort wide off Al Sakhet's cross as the match went into extra-time.

Japan threatened in the opening minute of extra time with Ogura's shot taking a deflection and just missing the bar while at the other end, Baker Kalbouneh hit a tame effort from close range with Khrouba and Azaizeh also wasteful with their efforts. Another chance went begging for Jordan at the start of the second period of extra time with Azaizeh firing his effort from distance over the bar. Japan also had a chance to win it late on with Kanta Sekitomi opening up space for Kaito Koizumi, who pulled his effort wide from close range as the match went to penalties.

Araki rose to the occasion in the shootout, first denying Mohammad Taha's opening spot-kick and then diving the right way to stop Mohammad Al Shatti as Japan advanced after surviving a massive scare, with either Australia or Korea Republic their semi-final opponents.  (QNA)