On the evening of February 1, Beijing time, the World Preliminary Round of 12 in Asia ushered in the 8th round of competition, and the Saudi men's football team played against the Japanese men's football team away. In the end, the Saudi team was beaten back to its original form, suffered a 0-2 defeat, and the lead was reduced to 1 point, which was also unable to create a points record for the first 8 games of the final round of the World Preliminary Round in Asia.
As the asian triple crown champion, Saudi Arabia has participated in the World Cup finals five times, the most recent of which was in 2018, when they were eliminated in the group stage. In this year's Round of 12, the Saudi team played well, accumulating 19 points in 7 rounds, pushing Japan and Australia to rank first in the group, and it was close to the World Cup.
This round of Saudi Arabia away to japan, the two teams had a meeting in October last year, and finally Saudi Arabia won 1-0 at home to Japan and began to lead the group standings.
In the latest EDITION OF FIFA World Rankings, Saudi Arabia ranks 51st, Asia 6th, Japan 26th and Asia 2nd.
In the away game, the Saudi team fell into passivity and was suppressed by the Japanese team after the opening. In the 31st minute, the Saudi team was penetrated by Jun Ito, a foot pass to the box, and finally Takushi Minamino scored, and the Saudi team fell into a desperate situation 0-1.
Shortly after the start of the second half, the Saudi team conceded another goal, and it was Junya Ito, who scored directly from a distance to help Japan extend the score 2-0.
Since then, the Saudi team has not changed the passive situation of the game, and the Japanese team has firmly controlled the game at home, and finally relied on the joint goals of Takumi Minano and Junya Ito to avenge the Saudi team 2-0.
This loss made saudi arabia suffer the first defeat in the round of 12, and it was also unable to surpass the national football team, creating a point record for the first 8 games of the final round of the World Preliminary Round in Asia. After the Saudi team lost, the points stayed at 19 points, and the Japanese team behind them narrowed to only 1 point difference, continuing to rank first in the group.
Australia, which will play later, will win, the points will reach 17 points, the group competition for the second situation is about to change drastically, and then the Saudi team will play against the Australian team, so the worst result of this West Asian giants is to fall from the first to the third, and finally play against the fifth team in South America, missing the World Cup, which is not the result that the Saudi team wants to see.