Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa both missed penalties and Japan's hopes of defending its Asian Cup title were shattered with a sudden-death 5-4 shootout defeat to the United Arab Emirates after a 1-1 extra-time draw in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Japan fell behind to an early strike from Ali Mabkhout but after a spell of intense second-half pressure, substitute Gaku Shibasaki smashed home the equalizer in the 81st minute.
Thirty minutes of extra time failed to decide the match and Honda blazed Japan's first penalty over the bar. Kagawa hit the post and Ismail Ahmed kept his cool to rifle in the decisive kick and set UAE up with a meeting with host Australia in the semis.