2-0 victory over Minamino and Ito goals… First defeat in Saudi Arabia
Park Hang-seo’s Vietnam wins for the first time in the final qualifier… 3-1 win over China
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(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Bo-in = Japan defeated Saudi Arabia and raised hopes for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Japan won 2-0 with goals from Takumi Minamino and Junya Ito in the home match between Saudi Arabia and Qatar World Cup Asian Final Group B Game 8 held at Saitama Stadium in Saitama Prefecture, Japan on the 1st.
As a result, Japan, which won five consecutive victories in the final qualifying round, accumulated 18 points (6-2) and maintained second place in Group B. also raised
If Saudi Arabia wins that day, they can secure at least 2nd place in Group B with two matches remaining and be the first in Group B to qualify for the World Cup finals.
However, they were unable to achieve their goal as they suffered their first defeat in the final qualifying round at the Japanese expedition, and the fight for the rankings in Group B intensified.
Saudi Arabia should aim to qualify for the World Cup finals in the 9th game against China in March.
In the Qatar World Cup Asian Final Qualifier, the first and second places in each group advance directly to the finals. After a play-off (PO) between the 3rd place in the group, the winner will compete with the 5th-placed team in the South American qualifier for a ticket to Qatar in an intercontinental PO.
In Group B, Australia, which has not played 8 games yet, is in third place (14 points, 4 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss), chasing behind Saudi Arabia and Japan.
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Saudi Arabia faced a chaotic situation in the 23rd minute, with Abdulella al Malki substituted for Abdulmarek al Qibri due to an injury.
Japan took advantage of this opportunity to increase their offensive and opened the goal with Minamino’s goal in the 31st minute of the first half.
Ito broke through to the right flank before posting a cross, and Minamino’s left-footed shot pasted an opposing defender and hit the foot of Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Mohamed Al-Owais and went into the net.
Japan, who took the lead, continued the pressure, such as Ito trying a right-footed shot from the right side of the penalty area in the 40th minute of the first half, but this shot was saved by Rowyce.
Saudi Arabia took the lead with 56.7%-43.3% of the ball possession in the first half, but they only attempted one shot and they were led 0-1.
Japan widened the gap with an additional goal five minutes into the second half.
A strong right-footed shot from Ito near the right side of the penalty arc passed between the opposing defenders’ legs and shook the net.
In the final qualifying round, Ito played the role of a solver by running the scoring for four consecutive games.
In the 23rd minute of the second half, Saudi Arabia failed to seize the opportunity, as Saud Abdul Hamid’s right-footed shot was blocked by Japanese goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda.
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The Vietnam national football team, led by coach Park Hang-seo, defeated China 3-1 in a home match at My Dinh National Stadium in Hanoi, Vietnam, and won their first victory in the final qualifying round.
Vietnam, which advanced to the World Cup qualifier for the first time under coach Park’s guidance, had lost seven consecutive losses before that day and had already failed to advance to the finals, but recorded a valuable win by defeating China.
Vietnam remained at the bottom of Group B (3 points, 1 win and 7 losses).
China, which failed to accumulate points, failed to advance to the World Cup finals.
China, which is in 5th place (5 points, 1 win, 2 draws, 5 losses), has a 9 point difference with Australia, so even if they win both matches, they cannot advance to 3rd place with PO qualification.
Vietnam took the lead with a header from Ho Thanh Thai, which received a cross from Do Hung Dong in the 9th minute, and Nguyen Thien Linh took the lead with a left foot 7 minutes later to make it 2-0.
In the 31st minute of the second half, a strong left-footed shot from Pan Van Duc from afar was sucked into the goal for Vietnam, who took the lead early, putting the key to victory.
China only managed to make up for one goal with a goal from Xu Xin in extra time in the second half.
boin@yna.co.kr
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2022/02/01 23:03 Send
