Doha – Yuya Osako scored the only goal on Tuesday as Japan put their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign back on track with a 1-0 win over China.
Victory at Doha’s Khalifa International Stadium gave Hajime Moriyasu’s men their first point in the final stages of the Asian qualifiers after a shock 0-1 home defeat to Oman in the opening match. table B.
Samurai Blue dominated the competition at one of next year’s World Cup venues, but could only convert an opportunity when Vissel Kobe striker Osako volleyed into goal after a winger’s pass. Junya Ito at 40 minutes.
Moriyasu credits his players for coming back with a positive attitude after last Thursday’s disappointing loss to Oman at Panasonic Stadium Suita.
“The players were determined to recover and that created good energy for the match against China. They won with hard work and smart play,” said Moriyasu.
Japan attacked from the start and almost took the lead after 23 minutes when Takefusa Kubo fired a shot from the right side of the box into the opposite corner.
Mallorca Kubo’s playmaker was heavily involved again before halftime as he sparked a Japanese attack that culminated in Osako’s header hitting the post from close range.
However, Osako made no mistake afterwards as he flew in the air to connect with a cross from the right wing of speedster Genk Ito.
“I spoke to Junya before the game and he played the way we planned. Osaki said.
Li Tie’s Chinese side failed to manage a hit on target during the match, having been moved to neutral because of travel restrictions in China due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Captain Maya Yoshida said Japan however needed to do better at creating home advantage after holding China back in their home half for most of the match.
“While we took three points to win, there is still a lot of room for improvement. It is still close and I was hoping we could score one more goal,” said Yoshida.
Japan will continue their efforts to qualify for a seventh consecutive World Cup away from Saudi Arabia on October 8 before returning home to face Australia on October 12.
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