In the quarter-finals: Japan kicked off the defence of their AFC Asian Cup title as Javier Aguirre's side notched up an empathic 4–0 win over tournament debutants and rivals Palestine at Newcastle Stadium.
Endo, earning his 149th cap for his country and making a Japanese record 18th appearance at the AFC Asian Cup, took aim from 25 yards out and his low left foot strike gave Ramzi Saleh little chance as it settled into the goalkeeper's bottom right corner.
[7] Jordan coach Ray Wilkins had said a day earlier that if his team failed to qualify for the quarter-finals it would not be because of a lack of effort, and his troops proved the former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder right with an industrious performance right down to the final whistle.
But equally, Jordan struggled over the last third of the pitch, missing that touch of creativity necessary to penetrate Iraq's defense as striker Odai Al-Saify was free in front of goal a minute before the hour mark only to float a back-header over the crossbar.
[8] But just when a draw appeared to be on the horizon, Iraq put an end to the stalemate in the 77th minute through Kasim, who slashed his way into the penalty area from right angle before pulling the trigger and seeing his shot deflected off Khattab to wrong-foot goalkeeper Amer Shafi.
The momentum continued to swing in Iraq's favor as in the 84th minute Jordan defender Anas Bani Yaseen was given his marching orders after collecting a second booking for a late shoulder charge on Saad Abdul-Amir.
Yousef Al-Rawashdeh's eye-catching strike 12 minutes before half-time at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium settled any nerves for Jordan, who had previously not won a match since their final AFC Asian Cup qualifier in March 2013 having suffered a 1–0 defeat by Iraq in their tournament opener.
Jordan did settle into the contest as the half progressed, although Palestine goalkeeper Ramzi Saleh remained largely untested as Abdallah Deeb flashed an effort just wide of the post midway through the opening 45 minutes.
And with the last kick of the first half Jordan added a third in stoppage time as Al Dardour, who did not feature during the opening defeat by Iraq, stabbed home from close range as Saleh was unable to cut out Odai Al-Saify's drilled first-time cross.
And five minutes later, Al Dardour joined Iranian duo Behtash Fariba and Ali Daei and Bahrain's Ismail Abdul-Latif on the list of players to score four goals at the AFC Asian Cup as the striker stabbed home Zahran's cross from just outside the six yard area.
[21] Substitute Hiroshi Kiyotake, who gave Japan a lift after coming on, set up Honda with a slick pass across the face of the goal but the A.C. Milan man, despite being completely free at the far post, somehow uncharacteristically missed, hitting the upright.
[24] Jordan's plans, though, were almost dealt a huge blow after just 10 minutes as Takashi Inui smashed home Kagawa's pull-back only for the assistant referee's flag on the near side to rule the ball had crossed the line prior to the delivery from the Borussia Dortmund midfielder.
Shafi, though, denied the defending champions a second five minutes later as the Jordan goalkeeper showed superb reflexes to push Masato Morishige's point-blank header from Honda's vicious corner over the crossbar as Japan continued to control the game and restrict their opponents to rare forays forward.
Needing to at least avoid defeat, striker Ahmad Hayel and midfielder Munther Abu Amarah were introduced at half-time for Jordan, and the move paid off as Wilkins' side started the second 45 minutes with added vigor after Japan had enjoyed nearly 75 percent possession in the first half.
The Japanese made sure of the three points with eight minutes remaining when a cross from substitute Yoshinori Muto found the onrushing Kagawa close to the penalty spot and Shafi was only able to help the first-time strike into the back of the net.