2000_AFC_Asian_Cup_Final
2000 AFC Asian Cup final
Association football match
The 2000 AFC Asian Cup Final was a football match which determined the winner of the 2000 AFC Asian Cup, the 12th edition of the AFC Asian Cup, a quadrennial tournament contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of the Asian Football Confederation. The match was held at the Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium in Beirut, Lebanon, on 20 October 2000 and was contested by Japan and Saudi Arabia.
Japan had won its only previous appearance in an AFC Asian Cup final, when they hosted the 1992 tournament, while Saudi Arabia were playing their fifth consecutive, and in total. The 2000 final was set up to be a repeat of the 1992 final, in which Japan beat Saudi Arabia 1–0. Indeed, 1–0 would also be the scoreline of the 2000 final: after Saudi Arabia's Hamzah Falatah missed a penalty, Japan scored in the first half thanks to a Shigeyoshi Mochizuki goal in the first half. Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi's numerous saves, which denied Saudi Arabia from scoring, earned him the Man of the Match award.