At 17:10 Beijing time on March 24, the penultimate round of The 2022 World Cup Qualifiers in The Asian Round of 12 Group B ushered in a focus battle: Australia vs Japan.
Australia is the hegemon of Oceania, because FIFA only has 0.5 Places for the World Cup in Oceania, and every time it has to play a cross-continental play-off, and once it encounters teams in South America, Central and North America and even Asia, it will stop cooking. As a result, Australia joined the Football Federation, and Asia has 4.5 seats in the World Preliminary Round. The vast majority of players play in Australia, which is playing in Europe, think that they don't have to play play-offs in Asia, but their calculations have failed, and they will continue to play in the play-offs this time.
Japanese football is known as the "King of Asia" and lives up to its name. For Australia to join the AFC, it is not taken seriously at all.
After the first 8 rounds of Group B, Saudi Arabia ranked first with 19 points, Japan ranked second with 18 points, Australia ranked third with 15 points, and two teams that directly advanced will be produced in three teams, and the remaining one can only play the play-offs.
In the battle, Japan started 451, center Takuma Asano, midfielder Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Hang Endo, Bi Tanaka, Junya Ito, four defenders Yuto Nagatomi, Maya Yoshida, Itakura, Yamane Shira, goalkeeper Shuichi Kwonda. The total value of the starting eleven is 46.5 million euros. There are also famous players such as Kubo Kenei and Shibasaki on the bench.
Australia started 442, Duke and Khrushtić double forwards, midfielders Mabier, Metcalf, Stensness, Boyle, four-backs Joel King, Degenek, Sainsbury, Grant, goalkeeper Ryan. The total value of the starting eleven is only 11.65 million euros.
As soon as the match began, Japan, which played away, showed the advantage of overall strength. In the 30th second, Takushi Minamino took the ball inside the penalty area and turned around and fired a powerful shot, which was confiscated by Ryan. In the 9th minute, Takuma Asano crossed and Jun Ito was offside when he shot. In the 12th minute, Endo made a steal and headed straight in, and Takuma Asano's shot was deflected. In the 21st minute, Takuma Asano faced Ryan with a single knife and was already offside.
In the 25th minute, the Australian corner kick was released, and Yamane saw the ball into his own goal, but the referee signaled that the Australian player had fouled first.
In the 28th minute, Takushi Minamino hit the far corner with consecutive slams in the penalty area, slightly offside.
In the 32nd minute, Jun ito sent a cross from the bottom and Takumi Minamino's header hit the crossbar and popped up.
In the 35th minute, Australia counter-attacked, Boyle's shot was blocked and Metcalf's long-range shot was deflected.
In the 37th minute, Yuto Nagatomo crossed and Takumi Minamino hit the crossbar.
In the first half, the two sides were tied at 0:0, Japan crushed Australia on the scene, but the momentum was not scored, Takumi Minamino shot 7 times, the Australian team only had 6 times, and Takushi Minamino's shot hit the goal frame twice, and his luck was also poor.
In the 88th minute, a substitute scored a goal to give Japan a 1-0 lead over Australia. In full stoppage time, the three reeds completed the second degree and killed the game.
At the end of the battle, Japan rose to the first place in Group B with 21 points, locked in the top two of the group, and advanced to the first round to advance to the 2022 World Cup. Australia still has only 15 points, and if it wins the final round, it can only play the play-offs. Saudi Arabia, which has 19 points, has advanced ahead of schedule before the match against the national football team.
Japan has been shortlisted for the main world cup for 7 consecutive times, and Australia has to play the play-offs for two consecutive times, and whether it can be qualified for the main tournament is unknown.