Japan blanks Egypt, reaches men's Olympic semis

Japan scores one goal early and two late to shut the door on Egypt and advance to the semifinals with a 3-0 victory.

Japan vs Egypt, Men's Quarterfinals

MANCHESTER, England (AP) ? Kensuke Nagai, captain Maya Yoshida and Yuki Otsu all scored against a 10-man Egypt team to put Japan through to the men's Olympic football semifinals Saturday.

Nagai scored in the 14th minute after midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake stripped the ball off a defender near the halfway line, turned and ran down the right before firing in a hard cross just inside the penalty area. Nagai chested the ball down and turned around Egypt goalkeeper Ahmed Elshenawi and defender Saadeldin Saad, who both collided trying to deal with the danger and sprawled to the ground. Nagai slotted the ball into an empty net.

But Nagai picked up a leg injury during the goal and had to be stretchered off. He tried to come back on again, but was substituted in the 20th minute by forward Manabu Saito.

For Japan's second, Yoshida was unmarked and headed home in the 78th minute from a free kick. Japan's third came in the 83rd with another header, this time from Otsu, after a cross.

Egypt's best chance came in the 77th when a dipping shot from midfielder Mohamed El Neny appeared to be going in, but Japan goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda dived down to his right and made the save.

The Baby Pharaohs saw more of the ball after the first goal and started creating problems for the Japanese with better build-up and dangerous balls into the box. Right back Ahmed Fathi sent a low cross in for forward Emad Meteab, but he sent his shot wide from near the six-yard box in the 30th. Fathi sent in a similar cross in the 36th, which Japan defender Hiroki Sakai had to back-kick over his own crossbar.

Egypt was reduced to 10 men in the 41st when Saad was sent off for fouling Saito just before he entered the penalty area as the last man in a goal-scoring opportunity.

Japan started off the match brightly, dribbling past defenders and getting behind the back line with ease. But the Japanese failed to convert the chances until the goal. They continued to press forward in the second half, trying to take advantage of the extra man.

Japan's football team won a bronze in 1968 in Mexico, but failed to take part in another Olympics until the 1996 Atlanta Games. It was a long 28 years. Now, the Japanese are becoming a rising force in world football, drawing on a solid youth program. The national team qualified for the 2010 World Cup and advanced to the first knockout round before being eliminated in a penalty shootout by Paraguay after a 0-0 draw.

The under-23 team took the tournament by surprise to beat Spain in the group stage.

? 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.nbcolympics.com/news-blogs/soccer/japan-men-dominate-undermanned-egypt.html

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