At 18:14 Beijing time on February 1, the 8th round of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers in Group B of the Asian Region ushered in a focus battle: Japan vs Saudi Arabia.
In the last round, after Japan defeated the national football team 2:0 at home, it accumulated 15 points from 7 wins and 5 wins and 2 losses, still ranking second in Group B; Saudi Arabia won 1:0 at home to Oman, 7 wins and 6 wins and 1 draw accumulated 19 points, continuing to lead the B group standings.
In the face of saudi arabia, which is very powerful, Japan must also strive to win. Although the top two in the group are directly promoted, Saudi Arabia and Japan have not yet ensured the top two in the group, Japan only has 1 point more than the third Australia, and defeating Saudi Arabia can not rise to the first place, but can consolidate its second ranking, the next round, Japan will be away and Australia dead.
Yes, Japan started 451, Andaku Daisuke also topped the center position, midfielder Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Endo Hang, Tanaka Bi, Junya Ito. Four guards Nagatomo Yuto, Akigo Taniguchi, Itakura, Hiroki Sakai, and goalkeeper Shuichi Kwonda. The total value of the starting eleven is 44.9 million euros.
Saudi Arabia also started 451, but the total value of the starting eleven is only 16.35 million euros, and unlike most Japanese players who play in Europe, most of their players play at home, and the two clubs that play for Riyadh, Riyadh Crescent and Riyadh, are mostly victorious.
The two sides met in the first leg of this round of 12, and Saudi Arabia won 1:0 at home to Japan. Japan's outstanding players are mostly midfielders and backcourts, lack of strong forwards, appear to be "weak", and only scored 7 goals in the first 7 rounds like the national football team.
After the game opened, both sides played very openly, with constant fouls, cards or player injuries. In the 22nd minute, Saudi player Amalki was replaced due to injury and could not insist on it.
As the game progressed, Japan, playing at home, began to show the advantage of overall strength, and the individual ability of the stars played a key role. In the 32nd minute, Jun Ito also used the speed of the outside line to overtake the Saudi defenders after the cross, Liverpool striker Takushi Minamino took the ball, shook off the defense, shot to the goal in one go, Japan led Saudi Arabia 1:0.
In the 40th minute, Jun Ito also scored into the penalty area to shoot from a small angle, which was saved by the Saudi goalkeeper.
Five minutes into stoppage time in the first half, Endo's long-range shot flew wide.
Judging from the situation in the whole first half, Saudi Arabia did not have a decent offensive at all.
The situation was similar in the second half. In the 49th minute, Jun Ito stopped the ball on his chest and fired a kick, and the ball was scored! Japan locked the score at 2:0. Since then, the Japanese offensive has still had the advantage, but lacked a shot-savvy forward like South Korea's Son Heung-min, and failed to extend the scoreline.
Full statistics, Japan 9 shots 3 shots on target, Saudi Arabia 3 shots 1 shot on target, the possession rate is actually Saudi Arabia occupies a large advantage, Japan only 39%, Saudi Arabia is 61%.
After the battle, Saudi Arabia still ranked first in Group B with 19 points from 8 wins, 6 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss, and Japan still ranked second with 18 points from 8 wins and 6 wins and 2 losses, but the gap with Saudi Arabia narrowed to 1 point. The last round of the national football team away to Japan, but also only lost a 0:2, so look, the national football team is not bad. However, at the time of the author's release, another game, only 15 minutes after the opening of the national football team has been played by Vietnam 2:0, leaving an hour of time, can the national football team reverse? Vietnam's 7 consecutive defeats in the round of 12 have been out of the game early, while the national football team has won 10 consecutive games against Vietnam.