Reporter Han Bing reported that in the third round of Group B of the Round of 12, Saudi Arabia won 1-0 against Japan. In the 70th minute of the match, Shibasaki's return pass turned into a oolong assist, and Brikan, who had just come off the bench in the second half, seized the opportunity to score the only goal of the game. And this match, for both sides, set their own teams' records in the round of 12: Saudi Arabia won their first three consecutive starts in the final stages of the World Cup qualifiers, while Japan, which won only one after three rounds, had its worst performance since the 1978 World Cup qualifiers.
Saudi Arabia faced Japan twice in the Asian qualifiers of the World Cup and remained unbeaten at home. In the round of 12 four years ago, the Saudi team was at the King Abdullah Stadium in Jeddah, with the goal of right winger Muwallad, the Japanese team that had already qualified, and pressed Australia with a goal difference advantage to get the second direct qualifying place in Group B. Except for 2017, in 1993 the two teams in Doha were 0-0 in white, and both times saudi arabia finals reached the World Cup finals.
The Japanese team suffered serious attrition in this campaign, especially on the right side. Jun Ito was also unable to play due to a suspension for accumulating yellow cards, Kubo Kenei was injured, and Don Yasuru also withdrew from the national team due to injury on the 6th. Japan's right side attack is facing serious problems, with Takuma Asano and Takao Furuhashi both just recovering from injuries, the former having previously recovered for four weeks from an adductor injury. Because Don Anlu temporarily withdrew and the team had trained away from Saudi Arabia, the Japanese Football Association decided not to recruit players to replace them.
The campaign was played at Jeddah's King Abdullah Stadium, and saudi Arabia, who have won two consecutive games, certainly hope to beat their main rivals at home and seize the opportunity. In the last training session before the game, The President of the Saudi Olympic Committee, Prince Faisal, Minister of Sports, and The President of the Football Association, Mishaal, personally visited the members of the Saudi national team at the training ground, hoping that the players could strive to win. However, the Saudi team's injuries are more serious, and the training 25-man roster has three main players in Riyadh Crescent Defender Breik, midfielder S. Daosari and Otef, and it was confirmed before the game that Riyadh's victory midfielder Ali Hassan was absent due to injury. Fortunately, the latter is not the main force of the team.
Coach Heinach selected Jeddah national player Garib on the left to replace injured and absent S. Dausari, with the remaining 10 men identical to Oman in the last round. Garib sat on the bench against both Vietnam and Oman in September, and his appearance was more likely to be considered to stir up the enthusiasm of local fans in Jeddah, the venue of the game. In addition to Garib, goalkeeper Ovas is also from Jeddah National, right winger Muwallad and defender Maleki are from Jeddah United.
Coupled with the Factual sports department allowing the stadium to be 100% open, Jeddah's home stadium, which can accommodate 62,000 people, truly becomes the "hell away" of the Japanese team. The Saudi Football Association specially prepared 10,000 Saudi flags and 5,000 Saudi team scarves to make the atmosphere of the scene stronger.
The Japanese team has suffered consecutive losses on the right side, and the Saudi team has also lost the main attacker Dao Sarri on the left side. In order to solve the problem of conceding goals, Coach Moriho made adjustments in the starting lineup. Kenhiro Fuan, who was the starting centre-back in the last round against China, continued to partner captain Maya Yoshida, with veterans Yuto Nagatomo and Hiroki Sakai on both wings. There was no change in the double backs of Shibasaki and Endo, and the offensive end Kamada Daichi returned to the starting position to support Ōtsuya Behind him, but the two wing partners were replaced by Takumi Minano and Takuma Asano, and Furuhashi Still did not become the main force due to the injury.
Both teams can be described as pinpoints against Mai Mang, both in a 4231 formation. The first half was spent wrestling in midfield until the 11th minute, when Saudi Arabia took advantage of a free-kick opportunity in front of the goal, threatening with a header that was blocked by Shuichi Kwon. The Japanese team was contracting its defense for most of the first half due to the relatively fierce attack of the Saudi team, and the few offensive opportunities were also too hurried on the left side by Takuma Asano to seize it. Saudi centre-back Amri then stepped into the box and nearly received a cross from the right to break the goal.
In the 28th minute, Daisuke also wasted the best scoring opportunity of the Japanese team in the first half, and the single-handed shot from The straight ball from Kamada Daichi was saved by Ovas, which was also the closest shot between the two teams to score in the first half. Eight minutes later, Daisuke also wasted another great chance, and the shot deflected off the right post.
Three minutes into the second half, Sheikhri successfully snatched Shibasaki, but Shuichi Kwonda blocked the Saudi team's shot with his foot. After that, the Saudi team took advantage of the home field to still have the upper hand and continued to maintain high pressure on the Japanese team. Although in the 60th minute, Mori Hoshi replaced Takuma Asano and Takumi Minamino with Haraguchi Genki and Furuhashi, the Saudi team seized the opportunity. In the 70th minute, Shibasaki made a mistake in returning the pass, and was seized by substitute center Sheikhri's youngster Brikan to cut through Shuichi Kwon's "small goal" on the left side of the small penalty area.
With just 1 win and 2 losses in the first three games of the Asian World Cup qualifiers, Japan scored three points, the worst performance of Japan since the 1978 World Cup qualifiers, when Japan reached the semi-finals with 1 win and 1 loss in the group stage, but was eliminated by North Korea in extra time. At the same time, it was also the worst performance in the same period since the 1994 World Cup began to enter the final stages of the World Cup qualifiers in the Asian region.
The performance during the round of 12 was a disaster, and Shibasaki, who gave oolong assists in this game, was violently attacked by Japanese fans after the game, and the nationality information on Wikipedia was even modified by fans to Saudi Arabia, and for Mori Baoichi, who was already in a stormy position, I am afraid that his life was hanging in the balance.