(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Coach Shahad Abdulghani was left to rue 'the two mistakes which led to our defeat' after Iraq missed out on a place in the final of the AFC U23 Championship and qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games after suffering a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Japan in Tuesday's semi-final at Abdullah Bin Khalifa Stadium.
Iraq, though, still have a chance to secure a return to the Olympic Games for the first time since 2004 in Brazil later this year if they beat Qatar in Friday's third place play-off. An even contest appeared to be heading for extra-time after a header from Iraq defender Saad Natiq two minutes before half-time had cancelled out Yuya Kubo's 26th minute opener for Japan.
But with less than a minute remaining of added time at the end of the second half, Riki Harakawa rifled home from the edge of the penalty area to snatch a dramatic win for Japan.
"It was a tough match; it was really tough mentally and physically as we only had a few days between matches which made it difficult for us. This was clear with the two mistakes which led to our defeat," said Abdulghani, who saw his side edge out the United Arab Emirates 3-1 after extra-time in Saturday's quarter-final.
"We had a decrease in performance in the last 15 minutes of the second half which we tried to get back, but I am happy with the performance and I hope we can do better in the next game because Japan scored their goals from our mistake."
"We have to first take the players out of this physical condition and mental state after the defeat. It is important to recover and rehabilitate the players in the next 72 hours as we have one more chance which is crucial to qualify for the Olympic Games," added Abdulghani.
"It will be a very difficult match whoever we play whether it be Qatar or Korea Republic. We have to prepare very well for the coming game to grab the final ticket."
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.