Japan came from behind to defeat Vietnam 4-2 in their Asian Cup Group D opening on Sunday at the Al Thumama Stadium, with five goals coming in the first half and Takumi Minamino scoring twice.
Japan grabbed the lead in the 11th minute via Minamino, but Vietnam stunned the four-time winners with two goals from well-worked set pieces by Nguyen Dinh Bac and Pham Tuan Hai.
However, shortly before halftime, Minamino restored parity with a clinical finish from captain Wataru Endo’s ball, before Keito Nakamura curled in a magnificent shot from the outside of the box to give Japan a 3-2 lead at the interval.
The second half was mostly one-way traffic, and despite taking their foot off the accelerator, Japan put the game out of reach of Vietnam when Ayase Ueda scored in the 85th minute to clinch the three points for the Samurai Blue.