The World Preliminary Round of 12 in Asia continued, with Japan, ranked second in Group B, playing at home against Saudi Arabia, which ranked first in the group. In this match, Japan scored in just 32 minutes of the opening game, and Liverpool star Takumi Minamino used his personal ability to stage a 1V3 goal to help Japan take a 1-0 lead. Judging from the first half of the game, the strength of the Japanese team in Asia is indeed too strong, and even the Saudi team is not their opponent at all.
In the last round of matches, Japan easily defeated the national football team 2-0. This home game against Saudi Arabia is also a key battle for them to compete for the first place in the group. If they win, then their points will reach 18 points, only one point behind saudi Arabia, and the first place will take the initiative. Judging from the course of the game, the Japanese team is indeed too stable in the face of key matches.
As soon as the game began, the Japanese team focused on counter-attacking attacks. The situation in this game was a little different from the previous Japanese team, and Mori Hoichi took the initiative to give up possession and play counter-attack tactics. With attackers such as Ōki, Takumi Minamino, and Jun ito on their front, their counterattack was very threatening. In the first 20 minutes of the game, Daisuke also almost helped the Japanese team to score the first goal.
In the 32nd minute of the match, Japan quickly scored their first goal. Liverpool star Takumi Minamino received a pass from teammate Junya Ito and used a dexterous shot to help Japan score first. In the following match, the Japanese team almost won a penalty to extend the score. Judging from the data in the first half, although the Saudi team reached 64% of the ball possession, they did not threaten the attack once, only one foot deflected the goal.
On the other hand, the Japanese team, with a 36% possession rate, sent 2 threatening shots, 2 shots on target, and scored a goal. This is enough to show that their counterattack tactics are very successful. I have to say that the dominance of the Japanese team in Asia is still very strong. At present, the Japanese team is temporarily ranked second in the group, and if they can always beat the Australian team, they will get a direct qualifying place, which is basically not too much of a problem.