Yoshitake has been rotating players throughout the tournament giving ample playing time for all his 21 players. He used 10 players in the semi-final against Iraq who were rested in the quarter-final tie against Syria and there is speculation that those 10 players used for Iraq clash will not be playing on Saturday.

“Well, who are starting on Saturday will be decided only on Saturday morning,” Yoshitake remained reluctant. “I prefer giving equal opportunities to my players so at the moment I am not worried on that front.

“These Uzbek sides are very tough and the Saturday’s final is going to be a difficult match like all those previous matches in the competition.

“We came here with an aim to win the tournament and we are one match away from that but doing it against the improving Uzbeks, we have to produce a master-class performance. They are physically very strong and they would try to break our play and rely on counterattack so we have to be on our guard,” he said.

Japan tested defeat in its second match against Korea Republic and apart from that blemish; they are over the top of all other opponents they have faced so far in the competition. They defeated the then unbeaten Iraq 5-1 in the lopsided semi-final on Wednesday.