Iraq claimed their first victory over Japan in 42 years when they won their Asian Cup Group D encounter 2-1 on Friday to qualify for the knockout stage thanks to a first-half double from Aymen Hussein. Japan were unbeaten against their opponents in nine games and Iraq’s victory propelled them to the top of the group standings with six points from two games. Hajime Moriyasu’s side have three points, the same as Indonesia, who beat Vietnam 1-0 in the other Group D game. Roared on by thousands of Iraqi supporters in the stadium, the Lions of Mesopotamia got on the board inside five minutes when Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki failed to deal with a cross, parrying the ball straight to Hussein who headed it into the top corner. Iraq’s strategy was to stay compact and use their physicality early on, which worked to an extent until Japan began using their pace and finding space on the wings to put crosses into the box. But Iraq doubled their lead on the stroke of half-time when Ahmed al-Hajjaj skipped past his marker and floated in a cross that was headed home from point-blank range by Hussein as the Iraqi fans at the Education City Stadium went delirious. Moriyasu made five substitutions after the restart and, although Japan had a penalty claim denied after a VAR check, they did not test the keeper until the 94th minute when Wataru Endo headed home at the far post from a corner. Iran also booked their place in the last 16 when they beat Hong Kong 1-0 in a Group C game on Friday at the Khalifa International Stadium, with Mehdi Ghayedi scoring the winner. The result moved Iran to six points at the top of the group where they will be guaranteed a top-two finish. They sit two points above the United Arab Emirates while Palestine are third with one point. Iran broke the deadlock in the 24th minute when Milad Mohammadi released Ghayedi into the box, where the 25-year-old took his shot from a tight angle and beat the keeper as he guided the ball into the far bottom corner. Iran dominated possession and had several opportunities to extend their lead but failed to convert their chances as Hong Kong frustrated their more illustrious opponents, much to the disappointment of the Iranian coach, Amir Ghalenoei. Hong Kong, who made their return to the Asian Cup after 56 years and are 129 places below Iran in the rankings, remain winless and are bottom with no points after losing to UAE in their group opener. Iran play UAE on Tuesday in their final group game, which will effectively decide who tops the table.