Ayase Ueda found the back of the net three times as Japan coasted to a 5-0 victory over Myanmar on Thursday. The 25-year-old Feyenoord forward completed his hat-trick within the space of just 39 minutes. The victory shot Japan up to the top of their World Cup qualifying group, which they share with Syria and North Korea.
Ueda opened the scoring in the eleventh minute against Myanmar. A beautiful flick of the ball from Monaco’s Takumi Minamino found the head of Ueda, who made no mistake from ten yards out. Lazio’s Daichi Kamada doubled his country’s lead with a sensational strike from range. Ueda grabbed his second just before the break, once again creeping through the Myanmar defence before converting from close range.
Just five minutes after the interval Ueda sealed his hat-trick. Having squeezed through a gap in the Myanmar defence, the 25-year-old received the ball and did incredibly to chip it first-time into the back of the net. Japan’s fifth and final goal of the game came late on. Former PSV player Ritsu Doan claimed the goal and put the cherry on top of an emphatic victory.
Ayase Ueda is yet to make a mark on the Eredivisie. So far this season the forward has featured 12 times across all competitions, scoring once. Feyenoord head coach Arne Slot has been using Ueda as a substitute, but he’ll soon be handed his chances. Ueda’s goals against Myanmar made him the youngest player to have scored a hat-trick for Japan in a World Cup qualifier this century (25).
