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The AFC.comJapan win AFC Futsal ChampionshipFriday, 01 June 2012Dubai: Japan were crowned AFC Futsal Championship UAE 2012 champions with an emphatic 6-1 victory over Thailand at the Al Wasl Indoor Stadium on Friday as the East Asians took the coveted title for a second time.
Kenichiro Kogure gave the 2006 winners a fourth minute lead and after Kritsada Wongkaeo drew Thailand level in the 11th minute Wataru Kitahara restored Japan's advantage with five minutes of the half remaining as the East Asians went into the break 2-1 up.
An error from Thai keeper Surapong Tompa led to the indirect free-kick from which Kotaro Inababa extended Japan's lead midway through the second period before Rafael Henmi, keeper Hisamitsu Kawahara and Tetsuya Murakami added further goals as Thailand's power play backfired badly.
Thailand went into the game buoyed by their epic 5-4 extra-time victory over Iran that ended their chances of an 11th title in 12 tournaments while Japan advanced with a 3-0 win over Australia that had Japan coach Miguel Rodrigo expressing concerns over his side's inability to convert scoring opportunities into goals.
But that was not the case when Japan took a fourth minute lead with two-time AFC Futsal Championship MVP (2005, 2006) Kenichiro Kogure comfortably dispatching Yusuke Komiyama's well-struck cross from the left.
Seven minutes later Thailand were level with Kritsada Wongkaeo coolly clipping the ball past keeper Hisamitsu Kawahara following a superb curling pass from Suphawut Thueanklang.
Japan took a 2-1 lead when Wataru Kitahara's low shot spun past a static Surapong and in off the Thai keeper's left-hand post with five minutes of the half remaining.
Kitahara went from hero to villain seven minutes into when he was rightly red carded for a dangerously high challenge on Suphawut but the Thais failed to capitalise on their two-minute extra-man advantage.
The tension was getting to both sides in a frenetic encounter and after Surapong was penalised for failing to release the ball within four seconds Kotaro Inababa extended Japan's lead on the half-hour mark.
Four minutes later Thailand's decision to employ the power play backfired as Rafael Henmi ensured he found the target in all six matches he has featured in when he struck the ball into the unguarded Thai net as the ASEAN champions sought to reduce arrears.
The Thais were undone again two more times from distance as first keeper Kawahara and then Murakami scored took advantage of all of Thailand's on-court players being high up in the Japanese half.
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The AFC.comRodrigo: we played with joy and libertyFriday, 01 June 2012Dubai: Victorious coach Miguel Rodrigo was delighted that his side put on their best display in Dubai as Japan turned on the style to defeat Thailand 6-1 to win the 2012 AFC Futsal Championship crown.
Kenichiro Kogure gave the 2006 winners a fourth minute lead in what Rodrigo said was likely to be his last AFC Futsal Championship and after Kritsada Wongkaeo drew Thailand level in the 11th minute Wataru Kitahara restored Japan's advantage with five minutes of the half remaining as the East Asians went into the break 2-1 up.
An error from Thai keeper Surapong Tompa led to the indirect free-kick from which Kotaro Inababa extended Japan's lead midway through the second period before tournament MVP Rafael Henmi, keeper Hisamitsu Kawahara and Tetsuya Murakami added further goals to make the final score 6-1 as Thailand's power play backfired badly.
"First of all I must congratulate Thailand, especially their coach Victor, on their tremendous effort. It's not easy to get to the final by beating Iran so congratulations to them.
"From the first match we were very tense, nervous and stiff in our movement but for the first time in the tournament we played with joy and liberty," Rodrigo said at the post-match press conference.
"I had a strong feeling that we would win today. I am a calm person that analyses the matches calmly."
The enigmatic Spaniard had earlier said that Japan went into the final match as underdogs after Thailand had had defeated pre-tournament favourites Iran in the semi-final and Rodrigo revealed that he had used this status as a way of motivating his players.
"Before I was saying that we were not favourites and I showed the players some comments that the fans had made on Facebook and this fired them up," he said.
"I mixed serious comments with some jokes so it was tension and relax tension and relax. I was joking with the staff and players to keep the situation relaxed and this helped the players perform. This is the psychological aspect of the game."
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The AFC.comTwo key moments cost us says HermansFriday, 01 June 2012Dubai: Victor Hermans pinpointed two moments in the final of the AFC Futsal Championship UAE 2012 final that laid the foundations of Thailand's defeat to Japan and admitted that his power play in the closing stages contributed to the big margin of defeat.
Kenichiro Kogure gave the 2006 winners a fourth minute lead and after Kritsada Wongkaeo drew Thailand level in the 11th minute Wataru Kitahara restored Japan's advantage with five minutes of the half remaining as the East Asians went into the break 2-1 up.
An error from Thai keeper Surapong Tompa led to the indirect free-kick from which Kotaro Inababa extended Japan's lead midway through the second period before Rafael Henmi, keeper Hisamitsu Kawahara and Tetsuya Murakami added further goals to make the final score 6-1 as Thailand's power play backfired badly.
"Obviously the team is very disappointed and I had to talk to them to tell them they must be proud of what they have achieved here," said Hermans, who missed out on becoming the first person in the history of the tournament to lead two countries to glory after guiding Iran to the 2001 title.
"There were two key moments that I think cost us the match," continued the Dutchman.
"The first was when we couldn't take advantage of the four versus three situation after the red card and the second was when the keeper held on to the ball for longer than four seconds."
Hermans had said throughout the tournament in Dubai that he had a nagging feeling that at some stage the wheels would come off of Thailand's impressive continental campaign and unfortunately for the ASEAN champions, it came in the final match.
"At 2-1 and 3-1 the spectators saw a very entertaining game but after that I had the feeling we were not going to win. Aat the end it seemed like every shot went in but as a coach sometimes I have to take risks."
Despite the defeat Hermans says his side can head back to Bangkok with their heads held high after an impressive display in Dubai which featured, most notably, their outstanding semi-final win over ten-time champions Iran.
"Maybe we gave too much in the game against Iran yesterday but we must be proud of the way we played. This tournament was tremendously helpful in boasting the confidence of our young players."
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