By MIKE NASTRI
Japan slipped by Qatar 3-2 in the quarterfinals of the Asian Cup behind a Masahiko Inoha game winner.
The Kashima Antlers midfielder jumped on a loose ball in front of net and slotted home the stoppage time winner. Shinji Kagawa added two goals in the effort for the Blue Samurai. The Borussia Dortmund striker now leads Japan in scoring during the Asian Cup with four.
Qatar, despite being ranked 76 spots behind Japan in the FIFA rankings, gave the Japanese all they could handle. The 2022 World Cup host had a one goal lead in the 70th minute, but then gave up the equalizer to Kagawa.
Japan will play the winner of Iran and South Korea on Tuesday.
In other Asian Cup action, Ulughbek Bakaev's brace propelled Uzbekistan past Jordan 2-1 in the quarterfinals. Uzbekistan will play the winner of Australia and Iraq on Tuesday.
Here are a few more stories from around the world of soccer:
ZE ROBERTO TO RED BULLS?
Reports out of Brazil have Ze Roberto coming to the Red Bulls during the summer transfer window. According to the report, the 36-year old midfielder is considering a two-year contract with New York.
Ze Roberto's contract at Hamburg runs out at the end of this season and he would leave for MLS as a free agent.
REPORTS: FRIEDEL FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY
According to multiple reports, Brad Friedel has filed for bankruptcy. The former U.S. keeper reportedly owes close to ten million dollars to RBS Citizens Bank.
The bankruptcy filing is directly related to the "Premier Soccer Academy" in Ohio. Sponsors have dropped the camp, forcing Friedel to file for bankrupty t
The Aston Villa keeper filed for a technical bankruptcy, which can be annulled if a plan for repayment is put in place.
GIGGS TO PLAY ONE MORE
Ryan Giggs confirmed he plans on playing one more season in a Manchester United uniform. A contract is not yet in place between the Welsh international and the Red Devils, but contract discussions are underway.
The left winger made his 600th EPL appearance this past weekend against Spurs. Giggs has been playing year-to-year with United for a few seasons, but his recent form suggests he still has one more year in those 37-year old legs.
SPURS CONSIDER ROSSI BID
Tottenham Hotspur are considering a bid for American-born striker Giuseppe Rossi. Funds have become available to Spurs after being paid the 16.5 million pounds owed to them from Sunderland for Darren Bent.
Rossi has established himself as one of the best in La Liga; scoring 17 goals in 25 games started for Villarreal this season. The Italian international's contract runs out at the end of this season and has received interest from all over Europe.
Soundz like ze right thing to do for za Red Bullz…
if true..possible lineup after summer aquistion might just look like this with 10 of the starters with international expierience, and tchani who is deff worthy of a cap.
——Henry——-Agudelo——————–
———–Ze Roberto————————
Lindpere———————-Solli(richards)
————–Tchani————————
Miller——————————Albright
———Ream———-Marquez————–
———-Coundoul————————-
with bench lookin like this——————
Sutton—————————————
Lassister————————————
Mendes (S.Hot)——————————-
C. Robinson———————————-
Ballouchy————————————
Richards————————————-
Hertzog(Rodgers)—————————–
hes a G for sure, he can still woop my butt when hes 60 and in a hovearound.
Japan were a goal down and a man down before the 70th minute. The fact that they came back to win in stoppage time, no matter how poor Qatar played, is astonishing.
Apparently, he invested a bunch of his money in this goalkeeping camp. The camp bankrupted him. It would have been much safer if he had just bought an auto plant in Detroit.
Where he should be…He stinx
They are already the team to beat…
MLS has become the worldwide negotiating ploy. How many times have we heard mls mentioned when some star is up for a new contract? As long as some internet blog picks it up, it’s gold in their pocket! We’ll see ze roberto right after we see ronaldinho.
Japan vs Qatar was a classic. You failed to mention that Japan was down to ten men when they scored the last two goals.
I think Cosmos 2.0 will swoop in and sign Ze Roberto to play midfield on its non-existent team.
I had a bad feeling about Friedel’s youth academy. Nice idea, but hard to maintain the funding with those types of endeavors.
No MLS don’t take these old guys like Ze Roberto into the league. It is the same thing the NASL did. Bad idea!
Jozy will be on the bench.
Yeah, it depends how the soccer academy was set up. If it was any sort of limited liability not-for-profit then Friedel’s assets wouldn’t be at risk, just the company. It sounds like whoever ran that sucker dropped the ball though.
A few weeks ago, it came out that they were in discussions about an extension.
filing for bankruptcy does not definitely mean he’s broke, its certainly not a good sign tho. it could be a move to shield his assets from personal liability to this failed “soccer academy”.
i thought rossi signed an extension with v’real before the end of last season or before the start of this one? guess not.
Let the guy from Humboldt County California make the brownies.
I have a feeling this business entity of Friedel’s academy is filing BK, not Brad Friedel. Don’t have any of the details, but this is not an uncommon practice in the business world by any means.
thought you said earlier that Friedel wasn’t broke?
Giggs is the freakin’ man. He’s SO old, and yet SO money.
It won’t happen, and if anything, he would end up in Italy.
I’ll make brownies
Wow players usually don’t go broke until after they retire(because a lot less is coming in in terms of income).
Rossi to Tottenham would put Villareal in a peculiar position.
Jozy becomes the top striker off the bench, or they bring in another forward. Should be telling in regards to what their future plans may be if the Rossi move goes through.
Super Mo Edu’s twitter said Buddle scored in his debut today. Sick.
Ze Roberto would make NY the team to beat in my opinion. He may be old but he, unlike most Brazilian players, is in fantastic shape. If he does join, it would be interesting to see what formation they go with. Where will Rafa be employed?
Also… sad about Friedel… I say we organize some sort of bakesale.