On Sunday 12 January, the U-23 Japan National Team played their second group stage match of the AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020 against the U-23 Syria National Team.

With the team in a must win situation following their loss to the U-23 Saudi Arabia National Team, coach MORIYASU Hajime made six changes to his starting line-up, as OSAKO Keisuke (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) started in goal with WATANABE Tsuyoshi (FC Tokyo), OKAZAKI Makoto (Shimizu S-Pulse), and MACHIDA Koki (Kashima Antlers) forming the defence line. MATSUMOTO Taishi (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) and SAITO Mitsuki (Shonan Bellmare) were named as the defensive midfielders while HASHIOKA Daiki (Urawa Red Diamonds) and SOMA Yuki (Nagoya Grampus) were positioned in the flanks. UEDA Ayase (Kashima Antlers) played as the lone striker with MESHINO Ryotaro (Heart of Midlothian FC) and MORISHIMA Tsukasa (Sanfrecce Hiroshima) placed beneath him.

The match saw an early goal scored by Syria, as they were rewarded with a penalty kick after VAR ruled that Machida committed a foul inside the Japanese penalty area. With their striker calmly converting the spot kick, Syria took the early lead in the sixth minute......

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