In Group D, in addition to the U23 UAE - U23 Japan match, there is also the presence of U23 Saudi Arabia and U23 Tajikistan. This is considered a "death" match at the 2022 AFC U23 Championship. Therefore, the matches in this group really attract the attention of fans.

With the tense nature and no conditions to warm up, both teams proved to be skewed in the early game. Not many chances in the first 45 minutes. In particular, U23 UAE has a slight advantage in the game, causing U23 Japan to foul up to 12 times, with UAE U23 having only 1 foul.

The best opportunity in the first half belongs to Japan U23. It was Fuki Yamada's decisive effort from a distance. However, goalkeeper Suhail Abdulla played very focused and saved. The first half thus ended with the score 0-0.

The boring first half turned out to be the foundation for the explosive and highlight-filled second half. In the 61st minute, the mistake in the defense of the UAE U23 defense cost them the goal of Yuito Suzuki. But very quickly, in the 63rd minute, Yaser Alblooshi equalized for UAE U23 with a decisive kick, knocking down goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.

After that, the two teams played tit-for-tat. In the 71st minute, UAE U23 was awarded a penalty after Anrie Chase let the ball touch her hand in the Japanese U23 penalty area. However, Abdulla Idrees' penalty kick failed to beat goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.

And in the 76th minute, Mao Hosoya headed decisively after Shota Fujio's mid-range cross. It took many minutes for the VAR to determine this was a valid goal. Thanks to that, Japan U23 won the opening match.

Final score: U23 UAE 1-2 U23 Japan (H1: 0-0)

Scored

U23 UAE: Yaser Alblooshi 63'

Japan U23: Yuito Suzuki 61', Mao Hosoya 76'

Squad

UAE U23: Suhail Abdulla, Abdulla Idrees, Ahmed Mahmoud, Saeed Sulaiman, Eid Khamis Alnuaimi, Rashid Mubarak, Abdalla Mohammed, Saeed Al Kaabi, Ahmad Abdulla Jamil, Hussain Mahdi, Abdallah Al Balushi

Japan U23: Zion Suzuki, Kaito Suzuki, Matsuoka, Fujita, Saito, Hosoya, Yamada, Uchino, Kato, Chase, Yuito Suzuki