Japan took a big step toward the Paris Olympic men's football tournament with a 4-2 extra-time victory over 10-man Qatar in the quarterfinals of the U-23 Asian Cup on Thursday.
Mao Hosoya and Kotaro Uchino scored in extra time following a 2-2 deadlock through 90 minutes at Doha's Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, where the hosts went down a man after goalkeeper Yousef Abdullah's 41st-minute red card.
With the top three teams in Qatar qualifying for the Paris Games, manager Go Oiwa's squad need one more win to earn Japan's eighth consecutive Olympic berth.
Despite playing most of the match with a man advantage, Japan had to fight back from a goal down against a stubborn Qatari outfit buoyed by a boisterous home crowd.
"We made things a little difficult for ourselves, but we were able to focus on the game and make improvements," Oiwa said.
Japan took the lead barely a minute into the contest when Fuki Yamada intercepted a poorly played back-pass and blasted into the top corner from outside the area.
Oiwa's men looked in control until Qatari forward Ahmed Al Rawi rose high and rocketed a header past keeper Leo Kokubo in the Japanese goal.
Hosoya missed a chance to restore Japan's lead before Adullah was sent off for kicking the Kashiwa Reysol forward while jumping for the ball. Qatar defied the odds, however, by taking a 2-1 lead against the run of play in the 49th minute with another excellent header, this time from midfielder Jassem Gaber.
Japan ramped up the pressure at the other end and eventually broke through with Seiji Kimura's equalizer from a corner in the 67th minute.
The East Asian side had multiple chances to settle the match in regulation time but could not break the deadlock until Hosoya slotted the decisive goal off a through ball from Ryotaro Araki in the 101st minute. Uchino tapped in 11 minutes later after substitute goalkeeper Ali Korayem parried Sota Kawasaki's shot.
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