NEWS

Japan were held to a scoreless draw by Australia in a FIFA World Cup final-round qualifier on Wednesday evening at International Stadium Yokohama.

Coupled with Bahrain’s 1-0 win over Uzbekistan later in the day, Australia lead Group A with 10 points, two ahead of Japan on eight points. Bahrain and Qatar are tied on four points, with Bahrain ahead on goal difference. Uzbekistan are bottom with one point.
“It’s too bad that we drew today,” Japan coach Takeshi Okada said. “We proved that we can be competitive against an opponent like we had today, but we should improve the accuracy of our play.”
Japan dominated the game and had most of the possession. The first chance came from forward Keiji Tamada, who took a return pass from Tatsuya Tanaka but shot wide in the fourth minute. The Nagoya Grampus forward hit another shot from outside the box over the bar in the 28th minute.
Australia fielded Everton forward Tim Cahill up front, with AZ Alkmaar midfielder Brett Holman and Palermo midfielder Mark Bresciano behind him. But Japan center-back duo Yuji Nakazawa and Marcus Tulio Tanaka worked well to keep the Australians at bay.
The Aussies had a chance in the 41st minute when Craig Moore met a Bresciano corner with a header in the area, but his attempt was cleared by Tulio.
After the break, Japan continued to have most of the possession and played patiently, but Okada opted for an early change, bringing on Yoshito Okubo in the 57th minute for Daisuke Matsui. The new Wolfsburg forward came close in the 69th minute with a shot from a tight angle but Australia goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer saved well.
A minute later, Gamba Osaka midfielder Yasuhito Endo volleyed a pass from Atsuto Uchida from the edge of the box, but his fiercely struck shot was well tipped over by Schwarzer.
Okubo continued to press and had a good header from a Yuto Nagatomo cross in the 79th minute, while Makoto Hasebe came close with a first-time shot in the 87th minute only to see the ball deflect wide off Okubo.
Australia brought on 194-cm striker Joshua Kennedy in the 85th minute but he was well-marshalled by Nakazawa and Tulio and failed to trouble the Japan goal.
Australia coach Pim Verbeek commented: “I’m very pleased with the result. I am, of course, not always pleased with the way we play football, but with more or less no preparation and the time difference, I think we did our maximum today.”
“[My players] did a good job against a strong team because Japan played very well.”
The Dutchman added: “We are six points ahead [of third-place Bahrain] and four games to go. So, I think we are doing very well [in the qualifying campaign]. I think we made a big step today with 0-0 against Japan, so I’m very pleased.”
Okada commented: “Our players played wonderful football from halfway through the first half and into the second half. They showed some of what we’ve been working on and created a number of chances.”
“With this match, we have finished half of the [final-round] qualifiers, and I can tell that we are making progress. The best way to improve our game is to play high-pressure World Cup qualifiers.”
Japan will next play Bahrain at Saitama Stadium on March 28 while Australia will be idle on that day. Qatar will visit Uzbekistan in the day’s other game.

Teams:

Japan—Ryota Tsuzuki, Yuto Nagatomo, Marcus Tulio Tanaka, Yuji Nakazawa, Atsuto Uchida, Yasuhito Endo, Makoto Hasebe, Daisuke Matsui (Yoshito Okubo, 57th), Shunsuke Nakamura, Keiji Tamada, Tatsuya Tanaka (Shinji Okazaki, 83rd). Coach, Takeshi Okada
Australia—Mark Schwarzer, Lucas Neill, Craig Moore, Tim Cahill (Joshua Kennedy, 85th), Jason Culina, Luke Wilkshire, Scott Chipperfield, Vincenzo Grella, Carl Valeri, Mark Bresciano (David Carney, 92nd+), Brett Holman (Richard Garcia, 64th). Coach, Pim Verbeek
Goals—None
Cautions—Scott Chipperfield (Australia), Luke Wilkshire (Australia), Carl Valeri (Australia)
Expulsions—None
Attendance—65,571
Referee—Muhsen Basma (Syria)