The Samurai Blue’s journey may not have been pretty, but the destination is all that mattered.
A pair of late goals by Kaoru Mitoma drove Japan to a 2-0 win over Australia on Thursday night in Sydney, clinching a seventh straight appearance in this year’s FIFA World Cup by virtue of a guaranteed top-two finish in Group B of Asia’s final qualifying round.
“It was difficult to approach this game because of the travel to Australia and other factors, but the players prepared well and I’m glad the efforts of our staff to help them were rewarded with a World Cup berth,” Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu said.
Despite outshooting the Socceroos 19 to nine on a waterlogged Stadium Australia pitch, Japan’s players failed to make the most of their chances and the game seemed all but destined to end in a scoreless draw that would have delayed the team’s World Cup hopes until Tuesday’s encounter with Vietnam.
It took Mitoma, who has played for Belgium’s Royal Union this season on loan from Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion, to change the face of the game soon after coming on to relieve attacking midfielder Takumi Minamino, who nearly wrapped himself in glory on multiple occasions but instead watched both goals from the bench.
“I haven’t played much in this qualifying campaign, but we’ve reached this point because of what my seniors and all the other players have done,” Mitoma said.
“I think this win was a result of everyone’s efforts.”
Japan’s 89th-minute opener was the effort of a trio of current and former Kawasaki Frontale players, with Santa Clara’s Hidemasa Morita setting up current Frontale defender Miki Yamane near the goal line before the final cross to Mitoma at the top of the six-yard box.
“When I saw Miki had the ball, I knew from our time at Frontale where he would send it and he made a great pass,” Mitoma said. “I barely remember what I felt after the goal; I just ran to the bench.”
Mitoma’s second goal, a solo effort that saw him cut inside past an Australian defender before sending his shot off the hands of Australia goalkeeper Mat Ryan, was a welcome reminder of the dynamism that earned him a J. League Best XI spot in his rookie 2020 season as well as a runner-up finish in that year’s MVP voting.
“I knew we just had to run out the clock, but I saw that if I could get past the defender there was space for me to move in and decided to go for it,” Mitoma said.
Japan’s players celebrate after clinching qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. | AFP-JIJI
Neither team came into Thursday’s encounter under ideal circumstances, with both squads losing several players from their initial lists to a combination of injuries, fitness concerns and COVID-19 infections. Even Australia coach Graham Arnold missed several days of preparations after testing positive for the virus last week, earning a stiff fine from Football Australia after he was caught breaching isolation rules.
While Japan was boosted by the return of captain and center back Maya Yoshida, his usual partner in crime — Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu — was unavailable for a call-up, while veteran right back Hiroki Sakai and usual starting striker Yuya Osako had also withdrawn with injuries suffered in last weekend’s J. League fixtures.
But with the majority of its midfield in place, Japan had no problem containing the tattered Socceroos, who were without midfielders Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic and a host of other regulars.
“Ao Tanaka, Morita and Wataru Endo worked well to shut down the opposition in midfield,” Yoshida said. “Late in the game Australia had to go forward to try to get a goal and Mitoma did well to score when he did.”
Thursday’s joyous scenes stood in stark contrast to the opening of this final group stage, which saw Japan lose two out of its first three games in a stunning run of poor form that left many questioning whether the side would be able to directly qualify for the 32-team World Cup.
It was a shock to the system for a team that had breezed through the first group stage, which featured double-digit wins over Mongolia and Myanmar played behind closed doors at the height of the pandemic.
The Samurai Blue’s rebound began on Oct. 12 with a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Socceroos at Saitama Stadium — the start of a six-game winning streak that also featured revenge wins over Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Japan supporters celebrate the team’s win over Australia in Sydney on Thursday. | AFP-JIJI
Although Thursday marked the third straight time Japan had clinched a World Cup berth with a win over Australia, it was the team’s first time beating their Socceroo rivals on Australian soil.
But in a rarity for the nation that co-hosted the 2002 World Cup, the game was not aired on Japanese television — with streaming service DAZN declining to sublicense the broadcast despite concerted efforts by the Japan Football Association to negotiate an arrangement.
Speaking to a commentary team that included former head coach Takeshi Okada and retired national team legends Atsuto Uchida and Kengo Nakamura, Yoshida said he was “relieved” to have been a part of the team’s historical result.
“I told them that Uchida, Nakamura, and Okada have never won in Australia, and that I wanted us to win here and clinch a World Cup spot,” the Sampdoria defender joked when asked about his pre-game speech to his teammates.
Moriyasu, who for much of this qualifying campaign has come under criticism for his rigid tactics and conservative player selections, used his postgame DAZN appearance to once again thank those who enabled the team to continue playing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“All of these games were difficult, but I’m grateful to everyone in the government, essential workers, and everyone else who has made it possible for us to play soccer,” a hoarse Moriyasu told DAZN. “All of us here united for today’s win but there are so many players and staffers who helped get us to this point.
The former midfielder, who helped Japan to its first of four Asian Cup titles in 1992 only to fall short of qualifying for the 1994 World Cup in the United States, also paid respects to the Samurai Blue’s fervent supporters — dozens of whom flew from Japan to attend the game in person following the recent loosening of Australia’s strict pandemic border controls.
“This is something that we’ve all achieved with the entire Japanese soccer family and I hope we can celebrate it together,” Moriyasu said.
The Samurai Blue will host Vietnam at Saitama Stadium on Tuesday in what is now a victory lap, while Australia — set to face Group A’s third-place team in a single-legged playoff in June before a potential intercontinental decided against a South American team — will travel north of Jeddah to take on Saudi Arabia, who also qualified for the World Cup by virtue of Japan’s win.
The draw for the Nov. 21 to Dec. 10 World Cup will take place on April 1 in Doha.