Football: Japan reignite World Cup campaign with 2-1 win over Australia
On Tuesday, Japan resurrected their World Cup qualifying campaign by defeating Australia 2-1, thanks to late replacement Takuma Asano's 85th-minute winner.
VfL Bochum forward Asano surged into the box and chipped Australia keeper Mathew Ryan, the shot hitting the crossbar and bouncing off defender Aziz Behich for an own goal in the Group B match at Saitama Stadium.
Ao Tanaka of Fortuna Dusseldorf had taken the hosts the lead in the eighth minute, but Ajdin Hrustic of the Socceroos equalized with a remarkable 69th-minute free kick.
With two wins and two losses, Japan now has six points, putting them within three points of the previously unbeaten Socceroos.
The result could also rescue Japan manager Hajime Moriyasu's job, who was under fire after his team's poor performance in the last stage of Asian qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
"We've been preparing ourselves diligently, and that led to this result. We were under great pressure, but the players, coaches, the entire staff, came together as one and stood tall," Moriyasu revealed.
Following a demoralizing 1-0 loss to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, another defeat may have jeopardized Japan's chances of qualifying for the World Cup.
Meanwhile, under Moriyasu's former Sanfrecce Hiroshima colleague Graham Arnold, the Australians were on an 11-match winning streak in World Cup qualifying.
Asano, Daichi Kamada, and Gaku Shibasaki were replaced by Tanaka, Hidemasa Morita, and Junya Ito, who was returning from suspension, in Moriyasu's team that lost to Saudi Arabia.
Tanaka and former Kawasaki Frontale teammate Morita appeared to revitalize the Japanese midfield, helping to halt the Australian onslaught but also posing a threat going forward.
Tanaka put the hosts in front with a confident finish, corralling Takumi Minamino's lofted diagonal pass and blasting across Ryan from the right side of the area.
"I believed in Takumi's ability to do his job there and just kept running. I stopped the ball and was able to concentrate and did well to get it in," the 24-year-old Tanaka said.
"Today's formation was completely new to me, and I didn't really have time to practice it, so it was pretty hard. I worked really hard on the ball and was able to do OK, I think."
Despite a strong first half, the Samurai Blue were hampered by a lack of ruthlessness in front of goal once again.
In a frantic finish to the half, Cerezo Osaka striker Adam Taggart's close-range shot ricocheted off Japan keeper Shuichi Gonda's palm and into the post, before Minamino forced a diving stop from Ryan at the other end, turning and hitting from the edge of the box.
Midway through the second half, the video assistant referee granted Japan a reprieve, overturning a penalty after Morita was found to have committed a foul just beyond the area.
Hrustic, an Eintracht Frankfurt midfielder, did hit the target with a wickedly curling free kick from the edge of the box, brushing the bottom of the bar.
Japan was unlucky not to be awarded a penalty after Minamino was tripped up in the box and neither the referee nor the VAR intervened.
Ryan kept Real Sociedad in the game late in the half with a string of stops, including one on an Asano shot from the edge of the box.
But Asano, who came on for Minamino in the 78th minute, kept up the pressure and scored the game-winning goal with a beautiful chip that just skimmed Ryan's fingertip.
Maya Yoshida, a "relieved" Japan captain, said the opening of two meetings against group opponents Australia was a do-or-die situation for the men in blue.
"We came in with two games against Australia that could each mean a six-point swing in the table. We were at least able to get the first one out of the way, now we have more work to do," the Sampdoria center-back said.
Stadium attendance is regulated at 10,000 supporters by Japan's COVID safety guidelines, however an additional 5,000 fans with proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test were given access to Saitama Stadium.
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