Japan star Shinji Kagawa hit the left upright with his spot kick, allowing UAE defender Ismail Ahmed to blast in the winning penalty and earn UAE its first semifinal appearance since 1996.

After 1-1 in extra time, UAE won 5-4 on penalties in Stadium Australia.

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At Canberra, Iraq beat fierce rival Iran 7-6 in a penalty shootout after a remarkable 3-3 draw, when four goals were scored in extra time.

"We worked hard, me and my teammates, to give something to our country," Iraq defender Dhurgham Ismail said. "Every respect to the Iran team who are not an easy team [to beat]."

Iraq booked a semifinal against South Korea, the only group winner to make the last four, on Monday, and UAE moved on to face Australia on Tuesday.

Iraq and South Korea are the only surviving former champions; Iraq in 2007, and South Korea last in 1960.

Japan didn't concede a goal in three group matches, then was shockingly behind after only seven minutes on Friday.

Ali Mabkhout ran on to Amer Abdulrahman's chipped pass and shot a powerful volley past Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima from a tight angle, for his fourth goal of the tournament.

Japan slowly found its way into the game, and soon dominated possession and territory but countless raids unraveled on the decisive final pass.

The goal from an increasingly desperate Japan finally arrived when Gaku Shibasaki '€” Japan's third and final substitute '€” took a cushioned pass from Keisuke Honda and curled his effort beyond UAE keeper Majed Naser to the relief of the Japanese fans among the crowd of 19,094.

Japan struggled to find its fluency in the first period of extra time as stars Honda and Kagawa showed signs of tiredness. But it stepped up a gear in the second period with Masato Morishige almost connecting on Kagawa's clipped cross.

Shibasaki came within inches of scoring his second goal late in extra time but his free kick was wide with Naser well beaten.

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In the shootout, Honda shot over the crossbar, and Kagawa also missed for the tournament favorite, giving Ahmed the chance to secure victory, which he did by burying his shot out of Kawashima's reach.

Iran, which played with 10 men after halftime, twice equalized in extra time to send the match to a lengthy penalty shootout, which ended when Iraq's Salam Shakir converted after Iran's Vahid Amiri hit the post.

Iraq captain Younis Mahmoud and Ismail scored in extra time, but Morteza Pouraliganji and Reza Ghoochannejhad, in the 119th minute, leveled the contest for the three-time champion.

Earlier, Azmoun Sardar opened the scoring in the first half for Iran, before the contentious sending off of teammate Mehrdad Pooladi just before halftime for his second yellow card. Ahmed Yasin equalized for Iraq in the 56th.

"I am very proud of the way they played the game and the way they fought," Iran coach Carlos Quieroz said. "We go home now and it hurts a lot, because the players worked hard and committed themselves, they deserve something more, and they deserve respect from the fans."

Australian referee Ben Williams was the center of the match's most contentious incident when he gave Pooladi a yellow card shortly before halftime for an innocuous incident with Hassan. Williams then walked away, seemingly unaware he was issuing Pooladi a second yellow.

The Iraqi players quickly surrounded the referee to alert him of the error, and Willams then brandished a red card to the left back, much to the displeasure of Quieroz, who gesticulated wildly for several minutes. At halftime, Quieroz needed to be restrained by Iranian team officials, and was led to the dressing rooms before he could confront the referee.

But a gallant 10-man Iran again showed resolve; Ghoochannejhad scored his second late goal in as many matches, showing good instinct to get to the bouncing ball and head in the equalizer during a goalmouth scramble, following Andranik Teymourian's corner.

Both teams missed their first penalties in the shootout before the next 12 attempts were all successful. Amiri's effort for Iran hit the post and bounced away, and Iraq defender Shakir calmly placed his shot past Haghighi to give Iraq just its second win in seven Asian Cup matches against its great rival. (+++++)

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