Charismatic Kashima seal a Real deal again

Japanese cash in on Guadalajara errors to win 3-2 in quarters

Japan’s Kashima Antlers fought back from an early goal down to beat Mexico’s Guadalajara 3-2 in the Fifa Club World Cup quarterfinals at Al Ain’s Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium yesterday.

Second-half strikes from Ryota Nagaki, Serginho and Hiroki Abe cancelled out Angel Zaldivar’s early opener, before a late penalty by Alan Pulido set things up for a tense finale.

It sets the Asian champions up for a Club World Cup reunion with Spain’s Real Madrid in Wednesday’s semi-final at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi from 8.30pm.

Kashima coach Go Oiwa said: “We lost a goal at an early stage and the players started playing the way Guadalajara wanted us to play. At half-time I reminded them of the many supporters who were present. We spoke about fighting spirit and tactics, and in the second half we improved collectively.” Favourite side

The Antlers met Real in Japan in 2016, when, on their event debut, they not only became the first Asian side to make the final, but also took the European champions beyond 90 minutes, before losing 4-2 in extra-time.

Because of that outing, Kashima had been the favourites heading into this contest against a debutant side in Guadalajara, who were also expected to be limited by their Mexican-only hiring policy — especially when playing international sides that have no constraints on their imports.

Guadalajara coach Jose Cardozo said: “In the first half we played very well with patience and organisation. It wasn’t difficult for us as we had possession and scored early. In the break I said stay patient and keep playing the same way but suddenly they scored against us and we lost concentration, we lost our way and they took advantage of that.” There were doubts early on for the Japanese, especially after Guadalajara’s quick goal. But Kashima kept their cool and equalised just after the interval when Nagaki tapped in Shoma Doi’s pass. The Antlers pulled in front via a penalty on 69 minutes from Serginho after Michael Perez tripped Doi in the box. Abe then curled home on 84 minutes. However, on 93 minutes Kashima’s Shuto Yamamoto took down Jair Pereira in the box, and Pulido followed up on a penalty save to grab a consolation that preceded a very nervous last minute.