Eliminating Japan, Saudi Arabia Wins First Semifinal Ticket for 2025 U-17 Asian Cup

TAIF, SUNDAY — Through a dramatic penalty shootout, Saudi Arabia dashed Japan's hopes of retaining the U-17 Asian Cup trophy. The host team triumphed in the penalty shootout 3-2 after playing a 90-minute match on Sunday evening (13/4/2025) at Okaz Stadium, Taif, with a final score of 2-2.

After ending a 36-year wait to once again participate in the U-17 World Cup, the "Green Falcons" broke another curse. Saudi advanced to the semifinals of the 2025 U-17 Asian Cup for the first time since the 1992 edition.

They managed to end a 33-year wait to return to the semifinals of the U-17 Asian Cup. At that time, Saudi also held the status of host team. Playing in front of their own supporters, Saudi secured the bronze medal, finishing in third place.

Saudi demonstrated their mental strength. Initially trailing due to a goal by Japanese forward Taiga Seguchi just six minutes into the match, the Green Falcons ended the first half with a 2-1 lead. Abu Baker Saeed (14') and Sabri Dahal (34') helped Saudi take the lead before halftime.

In the second half, Japan managed to equalize the score through a precise shot by forward Hirata Asada. He skillfully capitalized on a through pass from Japanese midfielder Daichi Tani, which split the Saudi defense.

Then, in the penalty shootout round, the first two kickers from each team exchanged goals. Luck began to favor Saudi Arabia after Japan's third to fifth kickers failed to find the back of Saudi Arabia's net. Japan's final executor, Ryota Hariu, failed to score as the ball hit the post.

Hariu's failure meant that Saudi's fifth kicker did not need to take their shot. Saudi's victory was secured by midfielder Maher Tawashi, who served as Saudi's fourth executor.

After witnessing Hariu's failure, all the Saudi players who were watching the penalty shootout on the halfway line immediately ran to the goalkeeper, Abdulrahman al-Otaibi, to celebrate the ticket to the first semifinal since the 1992 edition.

The players then approached the stands to sing and celebrate the historic victory. Saudi U-17 coach Mario da Silva and the entire Saudi coaching staff also welcomed their team's journey to the semifinals. They hugged each other.

Broken tradition

The joy that enveloped the Saudi team and its supporters meant sorrow for the Japanese players. The latest generation of the Japanese youth team failed to carry on the tradition of their older brothers who competed in the last two editions of the U-17 Asian Cup.

The “Blue Samurai” is the team that won the title of champion of the 2018 Malaysia U-17 Asian Cup and the 2023 Thailand U-17 Asian Cup. In the last 19 years in eight editions of the U-17 Asian Cup, Japan has failed to reach the semifinals for the first time since Thailand 2014.

Japan's performance in Saudi Arabia 2025 was also almost similar to Thailand 2014. They both suffered two defeats which caused them to be eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Despite failing to maintain their dominance in the U-17 Asian Cup, the young Japanese squad has put in all their might and effort to win. They played very offensively to pin down the Saudi defense from the start.

They had 64 percent possession. Japan even prevented Saudi from getting the ball into their penalty box in the second half.

The Blue Samurai also created 17 shots. As many as 11 of the 17 shots were released from inside the home team's penalty box. However, Japan's shooting accuracy was very poor because they only recorded 24 percent of shots on target. They only produced four places towards the goal.

On the other hand, Saudi Arabia showed a more positive attacking performance. Saudi Arabia scored two goals from just five shots. All of the Green Falcons' shots came in the first half.

Next, Saudi will challenge the winner of the Tajikistan duel against South Korea in the semifinals. The Tajikistan and South Korea match will take place at the Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Stadium, Jeddah, Tuesday (15/4/2025) early morning WIB.