Japan, ranked 26th in the world, has messed up again. In the third round of the Asian Round of 12 in the World Cup qualifiers, Japan went to challenge Saudi Arabia away, only to lose 0-1 to their opponents, losing three points again. In the first round, Japan lost 0-1 to Oman, this time losing again. It is very surprising that Morihoichi has an Asian team but has repeatedly overturned the car. This means that Japan played 3 World Cups and lost 2 of them, only winning matches with China. Such an achievement is too humiliating for Japan. You should know that before the round of 12, many people were optimistic about Japan's unbeaten qualification, or even a total victory, but they did not expect Japan to play like this, which was too unexpected. At the same time, this is also the first time in this century that Japan has lost two games in the first three rounds of the final stage of the World Preliminary Tournament, and Japanese coach Mori Hoichi has created another humiliating record.
In this match with Saudi Arabia, Japan's data is not dominant. Japan's passing technology is relatively good, but in this game Japan's possession rate is only 48%, which is lower than Saudi Arabia. Japan had 10 shots on goal and 4 on target, failing to score. Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, scored 1 goal with 11 shots on target, 3 shots on target. Shibasaki's mistake in returning the pass caused a catastrophe, allowing Firas Brycan to seize the opportunity to single-handedly break the goal. In fact, Japan also had a good one-handed chance, but Ōkyū's shot was unreliable and was blocked by the goalkeeper. Japan, which missed the opportunity, was punished severely. In any case, Japan did not lose this game unjustly.
The Total Value of the Japanese team is 108 million euros, which is only worth less in Asia than South Korea for 129 million euros (South Korea's high value is basically pulled up by Son Heung-min). Saudi Arabia is worth only 33 million euros. From the perspective of value, the gap between Saudi Arabia and Japan is still relatively large, but Japan has not been able to play a level that matches the value of the body, and there is nothing to say. After the match, Mori said helplessly that he was just about to prepare to replace the tired Shibasaki, but he made a mistake. Throughout the match, Shibasaki wasn't the only reason Japan lost. If Morihoichi does not get Japan out of the predicament as soon as possible, his position as commander is in jeopardy.
Japan only scored 3 points in 3 games and scored only 1 goal, which is surprising. After the national football team won Vietnam with difficulty, it also scored 3 points in 3 games. In the number of goals scored, Japan is worse than the national football team, and the national football team has scored a total of 3 goals, all of which are scored on Vietnam. In the Group B standings, Australia and Saudi Arabia are in the top 2, both with 9 points. Japan, Oman and the national football team are all 3 points. Vietnam lost 0 points in 3 games and finished at the bottom.