1:0 win against Japan

LIVE: Austria vs Japan for semi-final spot

Johannes Moser scored the golden goal in the 49th minute to secure a place in the semi-finals of the U17 World Cup in Qatar.(Bild: ÖFB | Andreas Pichler)

Austria says "Sayonara" to Japan (note: "goodbye" in Japanese)! The Red-White-Red's World Cup journey continues at the U17 World Cup in Qatar. Coach Hermann Stadler's team defeated Japan 1-0 in the quarter-finals with a goal from Johannes Moser in the 49th minute to advance to the semi-finals. There the young stars will face either Italy or Burkina Faso.

Austria's U17 footballers have added another chapter to their success story at the World Cup in Qatar by reaching the semi-finals. On Friday, Hermann Stadler's team defeated Japan 1-0 (0-0) in the quarter-finals to become the first Austrian youth team since the U20s in 2007 to reach the top four at the World Cup finals.

In a demanding match, a goal from Johannes Moser (49') was enough for the ÖFB team to celebrate their sixth win in six matches at the Aspire Zone in Doha. Their next opponents on Monday will be Italy or Burkina Faso, who face each other from 14:30.

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Johannes Moser scored the golden goal in the 49th minute to secure a place in the semi-finals of the U17 World Cup in Qatar.(Bild: ÖFB | Andreas Pichler)

Without striker Dominik Dobis, who had suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in the 4-0 win over England in the round of 16, Austria faced an aggressive Japanese side that posed much more of a threat in the first half. Goalkeeper Daniel Posch was the key figure for the red-white-red team before the break with two important saves in the 18th and 28th minute, while little was achieved offensively at first. Japan's defense cleared the ball once in an emergency (30') and Moser hit the outside of the net once (44').

Strong phase after the restart brought a decision
But the Austrians, who have only conceded one goal so far, kept a clean sheet - and opened up the chance to improve their performance after the restart. Posch had to make another save (46'), but then came the Red-White-Red's best phase, in which Moser took heart, shot from the edge of the penalty area and saw the ball wriggle into the net shortly afterwards. It was the Lieferinger's sixth goal of the tournament in Qatar.

While Austria hardly made any offensive impact after that, Japan stepped up their efforts. Against a spirited Austrian defense, however, the Asians hardly made a dent or were too wasteful with their opportunities. And the best opportunity was once again saved by Posch (69'). In stoppage time, after a foul on Hasan Deshishku and a video review by the referee, Austria were awarded a penalty, but the fouled player was denied by Japan's goalkeeper (94').