Japan attacker Daichi Kamada scored the winner midway through the second half as Eintracht Frankfurt reached the quarterfinals of the German Cup football competition with a 4-2 victory over second-division leaders Darmstadt 98 on Tuesday.

Kamada gave his team a 3-2 lead when Randal Kolo Muani headed the ball back for him to fire from just outside the box into the bottom right corner in the 62nd minute at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt.

Daichi Kamada (3rd from L) of Eintracht Frankfurt scores a goal during the second half of a German Cup match against Darmstadt at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Kolo Muani then put the match to bed in the 90th minute with his second goal of the third-round encounter.

"I wanted a goal so badly," said Kamada, who had not scored since Nov. 1, when Frankfurt came from behind to beat Portugal's Sporting 2-1 in a Champions League group stage match.

Kamada has had a slight drop in form since his return from the World Cup in Qatar.

"It feels like things are coming together," he said.

Daichi Kamada (L) of Eintracht Frankfurt is congratulated by teammate and countryman Makoto Hasebe after scoring a goal during the second half of a German Cup match against Darmstadt at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany, on Feb. 7, 2023. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Both Kamada and former Japan captain Makoto Hasebe played the full 90 minutes for Frankfurt.

Elsewhere, Japan international Ritsu Doan's Freiburg also moved into the quarterfinals, clinching a 2-0 away win at second-division Sandhausen. Doan came on as a 72nd-minute substitute.

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