Takehiro Tomiyasu made his first appearance at the 2023 Asian Cup, but his introduction couldn’t help his Japan side recover from a two-goal deficit during their defeat to Iraq.
Tomi missed out on the Samurai Blues’ 4-2 win over Vietnam in their opening game, but after building up his match fitness he was included on the bench in Al Rayyan in Qatar.
Japan though got off the worst possible start and conceded just five minutes in when Aymen Hussein rose highest in the six-yard box to net for Iraq, and the same player headed in a second from close range in first-half stoppage time to stun their opponents.
That was the cue for Tomi to be introduced at the break for his 38th international cap, and it looked like Japan had found a lifeline when they were awarded a penalty on 57 minutes, however it was overturned by VAR.
Wataru Endo would pull one back for Japan in stoppage time from a corner kick, but it was too little too late for the side ranked 17th in the world as they fell to a 2-1 defeat.
The result sees Iraq leapfrog Japan at the top of the group ahead of the final round of group games, when Tomi will hope to be in action again against Indonesia, as Japan look to book their spot in the last 16 with a win.
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