Japan showed their technical ability in a dominant 3-1 victory over Bahrain in their AFC Asian Cup round of 16 clash on Wednesday afternoon. 

Japan immediately slipped into gear at Al Thumuma stadium dominating possession for large swathes of the first half. Nine minutes into the contest striker Ayase Ueda nearly made his mark but his free header flew over the bar. 

Much of the attacking play went through the winger Keito Nakamura in the early exchanges and the Stade Reims winger had two perfect opportunities to open the score. First, a surging run into the Bahrain box was halted as he failed to control the ball, then a lofted ball from Takehiro Tomiyasu was expertly controlled but Nakamura's touch eluded him in the vital moment. 

Bahrain felt the strain at Al Thumama and could have been forced into an early change after it looked like keeper Ebrahim Lutfalla pulled his hamstring, but he stayed on. In a rare foray forward, the crowd gasped as Ali Madan's shot went goalward but keeper Zion Suzuki was equal to the effort. 

Japan finally found their mark just after the half-hour mark. Reo Hatate found himself in plenty of space and his 30-yard effort smashed the woodwork, the Bahrain backline froze and Ritsu Doan stole in to turn in the rebound. The Samurai Blue continued to press in the second half and got their second in curious circumstances. A smart passing move was turned in by Kubo, who initially looked well offside but VAR intervened to show Bahraini defender Hazza Ali touching the ball meaning the goal stood. 

Bahrain grabbed a lifeline through a moment to forget for Japan keeper Suzuki. A set piece fell to defender Sayed Baqer his initial header was well saved but a defensive mix-up between Ayase Ueda and keeper Suzuki saw the ball roll into the net. Japan's technical ability shone throughout the contest and Ueda put the game out of Bahrain's reach nine minutes later. A turn of the shoulder and a surging run which was finished through the legs of Lutfalla was enough to set up a quarter-final clash with either Iran or Syria.