By Tan Boon Piaw SINGAPORE: Goals from substitutes Manabu Saito and Yoichiro Kakitani helped Japan end Syria’s fairytale run 2-0 in the semifinals of the AFC U-17 Championship here at the Jalan Besar Stadium on Thursday. Japan, who won the title in 1994, will play against the winners of the second semifinal between Tajikistan and DPR Korea in the Final on Sunday. Saito fired the opener in the 69th minute before Kakitani killed the contest 10 minutes before the end. Japan edged Iran 9-8 in a dramatic penalty shoot-out to qualify for the last four after 120 minutes of football produced a 1-1 draw, and the gritty win also booked their spot in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea Republic next year. Syria, meanwhile, shocked pre-tournament favourites Saudi Arabia 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Japan coach Hiroshi Jofuku opted to pack his man in midfield and went for a 3-6-1 formation. Starting from the bench were influential playmaker Kakitani, striker Shohei Otsuka, and defenders Mizuki Hamada and Sho Yamaji.

“It was my decision to change the starting eleven. I wanted to give the reserve players a chance to prove themselves. They are very desperate to play and are hungry for success. I am happy that these changes paid off,” said Jofuku after the match.

His counterpart Mohamed Al Jomaa, on the other hand, played his best first eleven including ace striker Mohamad Jaafar and attacking midfielder Mohammad Darwish Midou, who have four goals each to their credit, and back-up striker Ziad Ajouz, who has found the net twice so far.

Japan ran the rule in the first half but woeful finishing cost them dearly. Syria never looked like threatening the Japan goal mouth had only two wide shots to show for their efforts in the opening 45 minutes. Tomotaka Okamoto, with no one near him, fired a shot straight into the arms of a grateful Syrian goalkeeper and captain Ahmad Madnia in the 20th minute and, five minutes later, Kohei Hattanda’s superb header off a pass from captain Kota Mizunuma was tipped out by Madnia. Desperate to score an early goal, Jofuku decided to change tactics in the 30th minutes by substituting Kohei Higa with Otsuka and switched the formation to 3-5-2. Otsuka did not take long in firing a shot at the Syrian goal but the attempt was scrambled to safety by the Syrian defence in the 38th minute. The first half ended barren and in the second half, it was Japan all over again. Madnia proved his credentials as a goalkeeper of the future by saving two almost certain goals by Japan within the space of three minutes. First it was Mizunuma’s long range shot in the 51st minute, and then it was a near post shot by Saito, who came in for Hattanda at the half time, in the 54th minute.

Syria, who lost to Yemen in the quarterfinals in the 2002 edition, were a much more determined and motivated unit in the second half but even this was not enough to threaten their confident rivals. Japan’s ceaseless forays finally bore fruit in the 69th minute when Madnia punched out Naoki Yamada’s powerful shot in the box but before the Syrian skipper could pounce on the ball and collect it cleanly, Saito sprinted in to lash the ball home. Ten minutes before full time, Otsuko applied the assist from the middle for fellow substitute Kakitani, who was unmarked and put the ball in past the hapless Madnia. “The early changes I made in the first half was to beef up the attack since we couldn’t find a way to score against them (Syria),” said Jofuku. “And the result was significant.” Syrian coach Al Jomaa accepted his side’s defeat gracefully. “I felt Japan’s first goal was offiside and I am not happy with the way we lost this game. Having said that, Japan played better than us today and I accept this defeat with dignity.” “We will work hard back home to achieve a good result in the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Korea Republic next year,” vowed the Syrian coach.