VfL Bochum will still have to do without Takuma Asano. The Japanese national team has cleared the next hurdle at the Asian Cup.
Good for Takuma Asano and the Japanese national team, bad for VfL Bochum: Japan beat Bahrain in the round of 16 of the Asian Cup in Qatar on Wednesday afternoon and are now among the top eight. VfL Bochum will therefore have to do without their Japanese attacking star for a few more days. The quarter-final will not be played until next Saturday (12.30pm).
After the public training session on Wednesday, in which new signing Agon Elezi was also on the pitch for the first time, Bochum coach Letsch still had faint hopes that he would be able to play Asano in the home game against FC Augsburg next Saturday (3.30pm, Sky).
However, that will now come to nothing and he will have to look for another replacement.
VfL Bochum’s Asano plays from the 80th minute in the round of 16
Japan beat Bahrain 3:1 on Wednesday afternoon German time. Freiburg’s Ritsu Doan put Japan ahead after just over half an hour. Takefusa Kubo and Ayase Ueda scored the other goals for Japan. Asano only came on in the 80th minute for the scorer of the 3:1 from the Japanese point of view – but was still on the pitch for over twenty minutes. The stoppage time was eleven minutes.
Asano only played in one match in the group stage – the 2-1 defeat against Iraq. He also played from the start. In the two victories against Vietnam and Indonesia, he did not play any minutes. Now in the round of 16, he only made one brief appearance again
VfL Bochum’s Asano: Asian Cup final would be on February 10
Japan will now face either Syria or Iran in the quarter-finals on Saturday. The two will play their round of 16 match on Wednesday evening German time. Should Japan also prevail there, the semi-final would be played in the middle of next week.
In the worst-case scenario for VfL Bochum, Asano would also be missing the following weekend in the away game at Eintracht Frankfurt on February 10. The final of the Asian Cup will also be played on that day