All winning streaks eventually end, and the Japan men's soccer team's 2-1 defeat to Iraq at the Asian Cup on Friday, January 19 provided fresh evidence that the maxim is correct.
The Samurai Blue's 10-match winning streak came to a screeching halt in Al Rayyan, Qatar. Iraq forward Aymen Hussein was the catalyst of the upset victory with a two-goal effort in the first half, scoring on headers in the fifth minute and first-half injury time.
Moreover, it was Japan's first group stage defeat at the Asian Cup since 1992 (a total of 26 matches).
In the right place at the right time, Hussein banged in the first goal after Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki's clearance attempt of a cross sailed right into his path and he sent it soaring into the top corner of the goal.
World No 17 Japan, considered one of the favorites to win the Asian Cup along with South Korea and Saudi Arabia, controlled the tempo of the match. Hajime Moriyasu's squad had possession for 72% of the time in its encounter against Group D foe Iraq. But Hussein's imprint on the match proved too much for Japan to overcome on this night at Education City Stadium.
Iraq, ranked 63rd in the world and the 2007 Asian Cup champion, capitalized on its aggressive play on offense, catching Japan off-balance on defense on multiple occasions.
Although Japan made five substitutions in the second half to add fresh legs and energy to the team's lineup, the four-time Asian Cup champion (1992, 2000, 2004, 2011) played a subpar match.
Midfielder Wataru Endo's header in second-half additional time (94th minute) accounted for Japan's lone goal.
For Japan, a Disappointing Result at the Asian Cup
"We prepared the same way as we did for Vietnam but unfortunately we found ourselves in a difficult position, especially early on," Moriyasu told reporters after the match, Reuters reported. "The crowd and atmosphere made us feel like we were playing an away game."
In his analysis of the match, Moriyasu stated that Iraq seized momentum in the first half.
"The second goal hit us hard, we must learn from our mistakes," he said before adding, "The players fought hard and I must accept responsibility for the loss. We analyzed before the game and knew how Iraq would play at the start, they did play very aggressive.
"Unfortunately we couldn't handle it, I know we need to do more."
With the win, Iraq improved to 2-0 in the Asian Cup. Coach Jesus Casas' club leads Group D with six points.
Iraq defeated Indonesia 3-1 on Monday, January 15.
Japan will face Indonesia in the teams' final Group D match on Wednesday, January 24. Indonesia is coming off a 1-0 victory over Vietnam on Friday.
The Samurai Blue need a victory over Indonesia to guarantee that they will also advance to the round of 16. Indonesia and Japan both have three points heading into their final group stage match.
Japan Triumphs in Asian Cup Opener
The Samurai Blue opened their Asian Cup campaign with a 4-2 win over Vietnam on Sunday, January 14 in Doha.
Takumi Minamino provided an offensive spark with goals in the 11th and 45th minutes.
In between Minamino's impactful scoring plays, Vietnam's Dinh Bac Nguyen and Tuan Hai Pham booted the ball past Japan goalkeeper Suzuki and into the net in the 15th and 32nd minutes. Suzuki, 21, who plies his craft for Belgian club Sint-Truidense, earned his fifth cap for the national team in the Asian Cup opener.
Before the first half wrapped up, Japan regained the lead (3-2) on Keito Nakamura's on-target blast four minutes into additional time.
Second-half substitute Ayase Ueda completed the scoring with an 85th-minute strike.
"It was great to win and get three points to start the group stage, [and] it was a reminder of the difficulties of starting a competition and playing in Asia," Moriyasu told reporters. "The players played with great composure for 90 minutes despite the difficult battle and I think that helped us to come back after conceding the lead.
"It was also good to see the players stay focused and really fight as a team."
Tennis
Osaka Beaten in Australian Open First Round
Two-time Australian Open women's singles champion Naomi Osaka's Grand Slam return ended on the day it began.
French No 16 seed Caroline Garcia eliminated Osaka 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) on Monday, January 15 at the Australian Open in Melbourne.
It was Osaka's second tournament of 2024. She lost in the second round of the Brisbane International on January 3, falling in three sets to Karolina Pliskova.
After Garcia's victory over Osaka, the Frenchwoman had nothing but positive things to say about her beaten opponent.
"I have a lot of respect for Naomi Osaka as a person and as a player," Garcia said, according to BBC. "We all know she's had an amazing career. She's been away for 15 months and been through a lot. I'm just very glad to see her back."
Garcia continued: "I hope she can enjoy tennis and have fun out there. She's a great girl and has done so much for tennis in the past years. Just six months after giving birth and she's playing amazing tennis so we have to watch out."
After the match, Osaka shared revealing details about her mindset at the Australian Open, where she captured titles in 2019 and 2021.
"I have to tell myself, 'Hey, like six months ago you were pregnant,' stuff like that," Osaka was quoted as saying by the WTA Tour website. "Of course, like, there's a voice in my head that is [saying], 'Who are you to think you can come back and immediately start winning matches?'
"I don't know, I kind of always expect myself to stand a chance anyway. So I guess just being nicer to myself is like a key thing that I learned in my time away."
Boxing
'Monster' Inoue Receives Another Prestigious Award
The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) has selected undisputed world super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue as its 2023 Fighter of the Year. An announcement was made on Friday, January 19.
Inoue (26-0, 23 knockouts) will be honored at the BWAA's annual awards dinner, which will be held at a TBA date.
Other nominees for the Sugar Ray Robinson Award were David Benavidez, Terence Crawford, Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney.
Inoue is the first Japanese boxer to be chosen as the BWAA's Fighter of the Year. The award was first issued in 1938, with heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey receiving recognition. Inoue was also named The Ring magazine's Fighter of the Year.
"This is a great honor for me, because all of the writers from the United States and around the world voted for me," Inoue said, according to a BWAA news release.
He added, "That means a lot to have my performances recognized in the United States, even though I was fighting in Japan."
Inoue triumphed in his pair of 2023 fights to become the holder of all four super bantamweight title belts. In his second fight of the year, Inoue produced a 10th-round knockout of Filipino Marlon Tapales on December 26 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.
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Ski Jumping
Ito Earns Runner-Up Finish in World Cup Event in Yamagata
Three-time Olympian Yuki Ito placed second in the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup women's event in Zao, Yamagata Prefecture, on Friday, January 19.
Ito had jumps of 90 and 101.5 meters, the latter of which was the longest jump of the day. She received 223.1 points for her efforts.
Slovenia's Nika Prevc won the competition with 235.2 points. Canada's Loutit placed third (216.7).
On January 14 in Sapporo, Ito earned her second World Cup victory of the season, soaring 124.5 meters in the opening round, then flying 129.5 meters on her second attempt to seal the win. She was awarded 230.1 points to hold off Germany's Katharina Schmid (224.0).
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Basketball
Sunrockers Set Franchise Record for Home Attendance
In their first home game after the 2024 B.League All-Star Game, the Sunrockers Shibuya established a team attendance record on Wednesday, January 17.
An announced crowd of 9,668 attended the Sunrockers' 79-78 overtime triumph over the Kawasaki Brave Thunders at Ariake Colosseum.
Shibuya usually plays its home games at Aoyama Gakuin Memorial Hall, which has a capacity of about 2,500.
The Sunrockers will also hold home games at Ariake Colosseum on March 20 (against the Fighting Eagles Nagoya) and March 27 (Shinshu Brave Warriors).
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Hovasse Determined to Lead Japan to Success at Paris Olympics
Four months after the Japan men's basketball team punched its ticket to the Paris Olympics, head coach Tom Hovasse spoke about the significance of the 2024 Olympics as a potentially seminal event for the sport in this nation.
Hovasse delivered his thoughts on the state of men's basketball in Japan during a Japan Basketball Association coaching seminar on Saturday, January 20 in Tokyo.
"The Paris Olympics is a turning point for basketball in this country," Hovasse was quoted as saying by Kyodo News. "It may be the time to become a major sport. I want to do everything I can to make [this] dream come true."
Japan qualified for the Olympic men's basketball tournament for the first time since the 1976 Montreal Games by finishing as the highest-placed Asian nation in the standings at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Up next: Japan will compete in 2025 FIBA Asian Cup qualifiers on February 22 versus Guam at Ariake Colosseum and three days later against China at the same venue.
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Hall of Famer Bradley Launches a Substack Newsletter
Former US Senator and Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Bradley recently started a Substack newsletter.
In Bradley's second post, "10 Things to Look for When You Watch an NBA Game," the former New York Knicks star demonstrated that he's a gifted observer of the sport.
Before his pro career began and before he won two NBA titles with the Knicks (1969-70 and 1972-73 seasons), Bradley served as captain of the United States' gold medal-winning squad at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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