2000 AFC Asian Cup final

The 2000 AFC Asian Cup Final was a football match which determined the winner of the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, the 12th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of the Asian Football Confederation. The match was held at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon, on 20 October 2000 and was contested by Japan and Saudi Arabia.

2000 AFC Asian Cup Final
The Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium (pictured in 2018) hosted the final
Event2000 AFC Asian Cup
Date20 October 2000 (2000-10-20)
VenueCamille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, Beirut
Man of the MatchYoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Japan)[1]
RefereeAli Bujsaim (United Arab Emirates)
Attendance49,500[1]
WeatherPartly cloudy
21 °C (70 °F)
68% humidity[2]
1996
2004

Japan had won its only previous appearance in an AFC Asian Cup final, when they hosted the 1992 tournament, while Saudi Arabia were playing their fifth consecutive, and in total. The 2000 final was set up to be a repeat of the 1992 final, in which Japan beat Saudi Arabia 1–0. Indeed, 1–0 would also be the scoreline of the 2000 final: after Saudi Arabia's Hamzah Falatah missed a penalty, Japan scored in the first half thanks to a Shigeyoshi Mochizuki goal in the first half. Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi's numerous saves, which denied Saudi Arabia from scoring, earned him the Man of the Match award.

Venue

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The Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium, located in Beirut, Lebanon, hosted the 2000 AFC Asian Cup Final.[3] The 49,500-seat stadium was built in 1957, and is primarily used by the Lebanon national football team.[4] It was the main stadium used to host the 2000 Asian Cup; six matches were played in the stadium including the opening match and the final.[5][3]

Route to the final

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Japan Round Saudi Arabia
Opponents Result Group stage Opponents Result
  Saudi Arabia 4–1 Match 1   Japan 1–4
  Uzbekistan 8–1 Match 2   Qatar 0–0
  Qatar 1–1 Match 3   Uzbekistan 5–0
Group C winners

Pos Team Pld Pts
1   Japan 3 7
2   Saudi Arabia 3 4
3   Qatar 3 3
4   Uzbekistan 3 1
Source: RSSSF
Final standings Group C runners-up

Pos Team Pld Pts
1   Japan 3 7
2   Saudi Arabia 3 4
3   Qatar 3 3
4   Uzbekistan 3 1
Source: RSSSF
Opponents Result Knockout stage Opponents Result
  Iraq 4–1 Quarter-finals   Kuwait 3–2 (a.e.t.)
  China 3–2 Semi-finals   South Korea 2–1

Match

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Summary

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The match kicked off at 16:00 local time in Beirut at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium,[6] in front of an announced attendance of 49,500 spectators.[1] In the 10th minute of play, Japanese midfielder Shigeyoshi Mochizuki fouled opposing midfielder Talal Al-Meshal in the box; however, Saudi Arabian striker Hamzah Idris missed the subsequent penalty.[1] The Japanese side came close to scoring twice, with two attacking opportunities by striker Naohiro Takahara, before Mochizuki scored from close range after a free kick by Shunsuke Nakamura from the left.[1] In the 42nd minute Japan had an opportunity to double the lead after Nakamura hit the crossbar.[1]

In the second half of the game, Saudi Arabia responded with their own attacking play, moving the momentum in their favour.[1] Substitute Mohammad Al-Shalhoub and midfielder Nawaf Al-Temyat both missed from long range, before Al-Shalhoub forced Japanese goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi to produce a "spectacular" save in the 59th minute.[1] Five minutes later, Kawaguchi saved a header from Al-Meshal.[1] Japan's attacking occasions in the second half came from counterattacks.[1]

Japanese striker Atsushi Yanagisawa was subbed on in the 80th minute, before being subbed off only seven minutes later; Philippe Troussier, Japan's manager, stated: "[Yanagisawa] didn't do what I asked him to".[1] Noted as the "best save of the match", in the 87th minute Kawaguchi dove to his right to save a 25-meter shot by Nawaf Al-Temyat.[1] The match ended 1–0 to Japan and Kawaguchi was awarded the Man of the Match award.[1]

Details

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Japan  1–0  Saudi Arabia
  • Mochizuki   30'
Report
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Japan
 
 
 
 
 
 
Saudi Arabia
GK 1 Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi
CB 3 Naoki Matsuda
CB 4 Ryuzo Morioka (c)   54'
CB 6 Toshihiro Hattori
RM 8 Shigeyoshi Mochizuki   10'
CM 24 Tomokazu Myojin
CM 10 Hiroshi Nanami
LM 12 Hiroaki Morishima   89'
AM 14 Shunsuke Nakamura
CF 29 Naohiro Takahara   76'   80'
CF 9 Akinori Nishizawa
Substitutions:
FW 13 Atsushi Yanagisawa   80'   88'
MF 15 Daisuke Oku   90'   88'
MF 30 Shinji Ono   89'
Manager:
  Philippe Troussier
GK 1 Mohamed Al-Deayea
CB 3 Mohammed Al-Khilaiwi
CB 12 Ahmed Dokhi   29'
CB 13 Saleh Al-Saqri
RWB 16 Fouzi Al-Shehri   72'
LWB 23 Ahmed Khalil Al-Dosari (c)
RM 19 Hamzah Idris   46'
CM 17 Abdullah Al-Waked
LM 29 Talal Al-Meshal
AM 18 Nawaf Al-Temyat
CF 9 Sami Al-Jaber
Substitutions:
MF 20 Mohammad Al-Shalhoub   46'
MF 14 Marzouk Al-Otaibi   72'
Manager:
  Milan Máčala

Man of the Match:
Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi (Japan)[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Himmer, Alastair (31 October 2000). "Japan edges Saudi Arabia to become Asian champion". The Japan Times. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  2. ^ "Beirut, Lebanon History". Weather Underground. 20 October 2000. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Japan - Saudi-Arabien 1:0 (Asian Cup 2000 Libanon, Finale)". weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  4. ^ "Our History – Camille Chamoun Sports City". Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Libanon - Iran 0:4 (Asian Cup 2000 Libanon, Gruppe A)". weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  6. ^ a b AFC Asian Cup History Book. Kuala Lumpur. 2019. p. 244.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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