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Japan booked a Paris Olympics berth in men’s football after securing a top-three finish at the U-23 Asian Cup with a dominant 2-0 semifinal win over Iraq on Monday. Well-taken first-half goals from Mao Hosoya and Ryotaro Araki, both set up by captain Joel Chima Fujita, sealed the deal at Doha’s Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium as the Samurai Blue qualified for their eighth straight Olympics and 12th overall. “Frankly, I’m relieved,” manager Go Oiwa said. “We made plans anticipating many situations and the players responded. We shared things we had to do, which resulted in our good attack and defense.”…

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