Japan became the first team to qualify for next year’s FIFA World Cup on Thursday as South Korea were held, but still inched closer along with a rampant Australia and a dominant Iran.
Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo scored in the second half to give Japan a 2-0 home win over Bahrain and take their place alongside hosts the US, Canada and Mexico at next year’s finals.
The runaway Asian Group C leaders failed to sparkle on a chilly night in Saitama until substitute Kamada pounced for the opener in the 66th minute.
Photo: AFP
In front of nearly 60,000 fans, Kubo added another in the 87th minute as Japan sealed their berth in style.
It would be their eighth consecutive World Cup appearance.
“I’m relieved that we could qualify at home in front of our supporters,” said Kubo, before he and his teammates doused coach Hajime Moriyasu with water.
Photo: Reuters
“This here is not our goal — we want to compete against strong teams at the World Cup.”
Australia remain in pole position to qualify with Japan. A Jackson Irvine brace and goals from Martin Boyle, Nishan Velupillay and Lewis Miller ensured the Socceroos thrashed Indonesia 5-1 as Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert was well beaten in his first game in charge. Indonesia missed an early penalty.
Australian captain Mat Ryan said: “I think the scoreline flatters us a little bit to be honest.”
Photo: Reuters
“At the start of the game they had two big chances, and if they put one of them away, it could have been a different game,” he added.
Japan lead on 19 points, with Australia second on 10 points, one clear of Saudi Arabia and four of Indonesia, Bahrain and China.
The top two go straight to the finals, with teams finishing third and fourth in the three Asian groups going into a further round of qualifying.
Saudi Arabia ensured the race for that second automatic slot continues with a 1-0 win against 10-man China in Riyadh. Captain Salem al-Dawsari got the goal to give manager Herve Renard a first qualifying victory since his reappointment in October last year.
Meanwhile, South Korea are still on course for qualifying, but conceded a goal with 10 minutes left as Oman snatched a precious 1-1 away draw.
The hosts took the lead in the first half though Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan, but Ali al-Busaidi struck to stun the home support.
South Korea still top Group B with 15 points and three matches left to play, beginning at home to Jordan on Tuesday.
Jordan leapfrogged Iraq into second via goal difference thanks to a 3-1 victory against still-winless Palestine in Amman. Iraq are level on 12 points after a last-gasp 2-2 draw in Basra with Kuwait. The home side were 2-0 down, but scored both goals in injury time to snatch a point, with Ibrahim Bayesh’s equalizer coming in the 101st minute. Oman are fourth, on seven points.
In Group A, Iran are one point away from securing their World Cup spot following a heavily interrupted 2-0 win at home to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Tehran, as the match had to be halted for 29 minutes when one of the floodlights failed at the Azadi Sports Complex. Emirates-based striker Sardar Azmoun opened the scoring in the 27th minute of first-half stoppage time.
Mohammad Mohebi added the second with 20 minutes remaining to lift Iran to 19 points. They would qualify for a seventh World Cup should they avoid defeat against second-placed Uzbekistan in Tehran on Tuesday.
Uzbekistan stay on course for a first World Cup after a 1-0 victory against Kyrgyzstan in Tashkent. They sit on 16 points, six ahead of the UAE and also Asian champions Qatar who defeated North Korea 5-1 in Doha.
Japanese badminton star Chiharu Shida on Tuesday told Chinese fans to “stop stalking” her, adding that she was “very scared” by the unwanted attention. Shida, who won women’s doubles bronze at the Paris Olympics last year, has a strong following in China partly because of her engagement with the local culture. The 27-year-old, currently competing at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, has been dubbed the “Badminton Goddess” by fans and media. She hit out at some supporters on Tuesday, accusing them in an Instagram post of taking their fandom too far. “Every time we compete in China we always experience the harm
Two people died on Thursday after fans and police clashed outside the Estadio Monumental in Santiago ahead of a game in South America’s Copa Libertadores, Chilean authorities said. The fatalities happened shortly before the match between Chile’s Colo-Colo and Brazilian club Fortaleza, when police blocked about 100 fans when they attempted to enter the stadium. There were conflicting accounts of how the fatalities occurred, with local media reporting that one of the dead was a 13-year-old boy. The other victim was an 18-year-old woman, according to a relative at the hospital where she was treated. The fans died after being caught underneath a
A potential European league could be a gold mine for the NBA as the top-flight North American league looks to muscle its way into a deep pool of talent across the Atlantic Ocean. The NBA is exploring the launch of a European league with world basketball governing body FIBA as a partner, NBA commissioner Adam Silver said last week, with an eye toward a 16-team format made up of 12 permanent clubs and four qualifiers. The continent’s longstanding Euroleague quickly signaled its readiness to enter into talks with the NBA, even as it has balked at the idea of another league in
Hans Niemann, the chess grand master at the heart of an alleged cheating scandal, has yet to provide an explanation on his late withdrawal from the Freestyle Grand Slam in Paris. Niemann, who was accused of cheating by world No. 1 Magnus Carlsen in 2023 before the matter was settled outside court, received a wild card for the event, but informed organizers he was pulling out for “personal reasons” less than 48 hours before the start of the 12-player tournament. “I texted him on Friday at 7pm. I said: ‘Hans, we’re already here. Are you here as well?’ And he read the
RSS