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In the semi-finals of the 2004 Asian Cup tournament, hosts China defeated Iran after a penalty shootout and will face the Japan team in the final on Saturday. Meanwhile, the day before that, Bahrain will compete against Iran in the third-place playoff.
Japan - Bahrain 4 - 3 after extra time (regular time 2 - 2)
Defending champions Japan defeated the tournament's surprise package, Bahrain, in a dramatic and eventful match. A’Ala Hubail put his team ahead in the sixth minute. The Japanese dominated the game and missed several chances in the first half. In the 40th minute, their situation became more complicated as Endo received a red card in a disputed incident.
However, after the break, within the first ten minutes, K. Nakata and Tamada scored twice to turn things around. This lead lasted until the 71st minute when Hubail scored his second goal. With five minutes remaining, Bahrain scored again, and it seemed like they had reached the final. But the Japanese showed character once more - Nakazawa equalized in the last minute.
After playing three minutes of extra time, Tamada scored his team's fourth goal from Nakata's assist. In the second half, Hubail missed a great chance, and a second yellow card for Jalal allowed the Japanese to maintain their advantage.
China - Iran 1 - 1 (Penalty shootout 4 - 3)
The tournament hosts took the lead in the 19th minute as Shao Jiayi found the back of the net. Iran equalized after twenty minutes when Sayyed Alavi beat the opponent's goalkeeper.
In the third minute of the second half, the Iranians were reduced to ten men as Sattar Zare was sent off for a foul on Shao Jiayi. Despite the numerical advantage, the Chinese team failed to score in regular time or extra time, leading to a penalty shootout.
Both teams scored their first attempt, but Zhao Junzhe missed the second shot. Then Mehdi Mahdavikia put Iran ahead 2-1, with the next four players also scoring accurately, except for Eman Mobali.
After Shao's attempt, the score was 4-3. Yahya Golmohammadi tried to equalize, but goalkeeper Liu guessed the direction and saved the shot - China won the shootout.
