A game with few consequences left plenty in the way of questions as Japan overcame a first-half scare to draw 1-1 with Vietnam in their final World Cup qualifier, less than eight months before the tournament is scheduled to kick off in Qatar.
With qualification having already been secured in Thursday’s away win over Australia, head coach Hajime Moriyasu went to the reserves for his starting lineup, giving Sydney hero Kaoru Mitoma his first start and Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate his first senior appearance.
But Japan’s XI failed to gel on the pitch and fell victim to a well-organized and highly motivated Vietnam side that pressured the home team’s goal for much of the first half, taking the lead in the 19th minute when Nguyen Thanh Binh headed a corner kick past veteran Samurai Blue goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima.
“I think the players were trying to do their best and show their abilities,” Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu said. “They were very proactive. However, they may not have had a good mental image of what it would be like to play together.
“The players did their best, but we have to function as a team and that was a little difficult for this starting lineup.”
Moriyasu went back to several of his battle-hardened regulars after the interval, relieving Hatate for Junya Ito before the start of the second half. Japan captain Maya Yoshida scored the equalizer nearly 10 minutes in after Vietnam netminder Que Ngoc Hai failed to contain Genki Haraguchi’s first effort, leaving the Sampdoria defender to pounce on the rebound.
As momentum shifted to its favor, Japan set out for a game-winner with Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita and Ao Tanaka all coming on shortly after the hour mark.
Tanaka appeared to have scored the go-ahead goal from outside the six-yard box in the 70th minute, only for VAR to call the play back after Minamino was judged to have committed a handball in the build-up. Japan continued to test the Vietnam defense for the rest of the half but proved unable to break through, with mid-game substitute goalkeeper Dang Van Lam — who plays for the J. League’s Cerezo Osaka — making several crucial stops.
“It’s absolutely unsatisfactory. We wanted to end with a win and both our play and I definitely feel like our play and the quality of our game were lacking,” Yoshida said. “We’ve worked to get the fans excited the last few days and I said we would reward them on the pitch, so to not get a result is the most irritating thing of all.”
The Japan Football Association announced an attendance of 44,600, the largest home crowd the Samurai Blue have played in front of since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Among those watching were several thousand Vietnamese fans who cheered throughout the game — and were repeatedly cautioned by the in-stadium announcer for violating rules meant to prevent the transmission of coronavirus-carrying particles among attendees.
The result ended Japan’s winning streak at six games and ensured the team of being placed in Pot 3 of the draw for the main tournament in Qatar, a position that could result in a group with as many as two previous World Cup champions.
“Higher pots may be considered somewhat of an advantage, but every country participating in the World Cup is very strong,” Moriyasu said. “The pot we’re in isn’t any guarantee of the results we need to reach the quarterfinals and beyond. We want to be able to beat any of the strong teams we may face, and I want to focus on strengthening our team in order to do so.”
The 2022 World Cup draw will be held in Doha on April 1.