Japan qualified for its sixth successive Olympics in men's soccer in dramatic fashion as Riki Harakawa struck a stoppage-time winner for a 2-1 victory over Iraq in an Asian Under-23 Championship semifinal on Tuesday.
Yuya Kubo opened the scoring midway through the first half before Saad Natiq equalized shortly before the break. Japan was forced to ride out waves of pressure from Iraq and the game appeared bound for extra time, but Makoto Teguramori's men had the last laugh as Harakawa pounced on a half-clearance in the 93rd minute for the win.
The two finalists and the third-place team qualify for this summer's Rio de Janeiro Olympics out of Asia. Japan will play archrival South Korea in Saturday's final.