The South Korean side had established a 2-0 lead early in the second half following goals from Kwon Chang-hoon and Jin Seong-uk before the introduction of Asano swung the match in Japan’s favour.

The 21-year-old forward, who plays his club football for J1 League outfit Sanfrecce Hiroshima, pulled one back in the 67th minute to halve the deficit and Shinya Yajima then restored parity shortly after.

As the match looked to be heading into extra-time, Asano raced through on goal and calmly slotted home to seal a dramatic victory for the Japanese team.

The event in Doha served as an Olympic qualifier and both teams had already secured their Rio 2016 berths by virtue of reaching the final.

The third and final slot went to defending champions Iraq after they beat hosts Qatar 2-1 yesterday in the third/fourth play-off.

South Korea began brightly and took the lead on the 21 minute mark in fortuitous fashion when Kwon’s half-volley trickled into the net via the boot of Japan’s Takuya Iwanami.

Jin then wasted a good opportunity to double his side’s advantages nine minutes later as he fired over the bar as South Korea continued to dominate proceedings, seemingly finding openings at will.

They deservedly extended their advantage when the second period was barely a minute old as Jin’s low drive sailed past Japanese goalkeeper Masatoshi Kushibiki.

At that point of the match, all signs pointed towards a South Korean victory but Asano had other ideas as he set about finding a way back into the game for a Japan side which had looked beaten until he entered the fray.

Asano made an immediate impact and scored the first Japanese goal as he latched on to a through ball from Yajima before coolly clipping the ball home.

Naomichi Ueda’s pinpoint delivery then found Yajima, who directed a bullet header past helpless South Korean goalkeeper Kim Dong-jun to level a pulsating contest at 2-2.

With the wind firmly in Japanese sails, Asano completed the turnaround with a close-range finish to ensure Japan will go into the Olympic men’s football tournament, which begins on August 4 and concludes with the final on August 20, as Asian champions.

Fifteen of the 16 places available have now been filled with Colombia and the United States set to meet in a two-legged CONCACAF-CONMEBOL play-off in March for the final spot.

Brazil have already qualified as hosts along with Argentina, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, Fiji, Honduras, Mexico, Algeria, Nigeria, South Africa and the three Asian representatives.