Japan emerged victorious in the Men’s Under-18 Asia Cup 2025 after they thumped Pakistan 3-0 in the grand finale at the National Hockey Training Centre on Sunday.
With an aggressive start in the first quarter of the final, Pakistan immediately pressed forward to counter and challenge the Japanese defence in pursuit of the opening goal.
The opening quarter of the final saw no goals scored, with the score remaining 0-0, as both teams looked to gain momentum by attacking aggressively and defending with intensity to put pressure on the opposition.
In the second quarter of the game, Japan scored the opening goal in the seventh minute, with Yuma Fujiwara giving his side a much-needed advantage and putting Pakistan under pressure.
After 30 minutes of play, Japan led 1-0, while Pakistan looked for an equaliser to ease the pressure in the third quarter.
The third quarter of the game saw Pakistan get a chance to equalise with a penalty corner in the first minute, but they missed the opportunity due to a brilliant save by the goalkeeper.
Moments later, they earned another penalty corner but failed to convert once again, missing back-to-back chances to level the score.
With just a few minutes remaining, Japan struck another goal through Ryutaro Ueda to take the score to 2-0, piling pressure on Pakistan.
The Green Shirts received their third penalty corner but missed it yet again.
With five seconds remaining, Pakistan earned their fourth penalty corner, but once again, they failed to score.
At the end of the third quarter, Japan leads 2-0, with Pakistan under a lot of pressure as they look for crucial goals to turn the game around in the final 15 minutes.
Japan registered yet another goal to extend their lead to 3-0 in the final minutes of the game, with Tatsuaki Yasui scoring via a penalty corner, putting the Green Shirts under pressure.
Earlier in the tournament, Pakistan showcased impressive form. They began their campaign with a resounding 8-0 win over Hong Kong, followed by a crushing 9-0 victory against Sri Lanka.
In their third match, they defeated Bangladesh 6-3, virtually securing a place in the semifinals.
In the quarterfinals, Pakistan outclassed China 2-1 in a commanding performance to book their spot among the final four.
Pakistan continued their remarkable run in the tournament, securing a nail-biting 4-3 victory over Malaysia in a dramatic semifinal decided by a penalty shootout.
The high-stakes clash had ended 3-3 in regular time, pushing the contest into a tense shootout.
Squad:
Mohammad Usman, Atif Ali, Asam Junaid, Mohammad Abdullah Farooq, Abdullah Awan, Zubair Lateef, Mohammad Yaseen, Mohammad Ali Taj, Ghulam Mustafa, Ali Hamza, Ali Hanzala, Aamir Sohail, Adeel Afzal, Mohammad Zaman, Mohammad Hussain, Mohammad Shaheer, Hasan Shahbaz, Yaseen Jamshaid
Team Management:
Shafqat Malik (Manager), Mukhtar Ahmed, Touseeq Ahmed, Masood-ur-Rahman (Coaches)
