Pathum Thani (Thailand), (Samajweekly) Asian giants Japan became the first side to have their name engraved on the new AFC U17 Asian Cup trophy after defeating 10-man Korea Republic 3-0 in the final of the 2023 edition at the Pathum Thani Stadium on Sunday.
Gaku Nawata scored twice while Yutaka Michiwaki netted the third after Korea Republic were reduced to 10 men in the 44th minute, helping Japan add the title to the three AFC U-16 Championship crowns won previously.
Japan settled quickly and could have opened the scoring in the fifth minute when Nawata advanced down the left before squaring the ball to an unmarked Michiwaki who, however, failed to keep his shot down on the turn from just above the six-yard-box.
Korea Republic responded almost immediately, but Japan keeper Wataru Goto redeemed himself after initially failing to hold on to Kim Myeong-Jun’s shot from above the box by recovering to prevent the forward from placing the ball in the net.
Two minutes later, Japan had another opportunity when Ryunosuke Sato sent a deep ball to Yumeki Yoshinaga who lost his marker down the left flank but then failed to find an unmarked Nawata with Korea Republic keeper Hong Seong-min intercepting the pass, said a report on the AFC website.
The game, however, took a dramatic turn in the 43rd minute when Ko Jong-hyun received his marching orders after picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Michiwaki just outside the box.
Even as the Korean Republic tried to regroup, up stepped Nawata to beautifully strike the free-kick over the wall and past a despairing Seong-min.
Japan raced off the blocks in the second half and kept the Korea Republic on their toes with Sato missing his effort from distance in the 47th minute before Michiwaki and Nawata saw their efforts from inside the box saved by Seong-min.
Korea Republic struggled to hold down the attacking Japanese side and they fell further behind in the 66th minute from a slick passing move which was orchestrated by Sato, who unleashed an unmarked Kohei Mochizuki, who nutmegged Kim Hyun-min before feeding Nawata for a fine finish.
As the Korea Republic pushed forward in an attempt to salvage the final, Japan struck their third deep in added time through Michiwaki (pictured above) as the celebrations erupted.
