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Xiamen, November 20 (Hindustan Reporter) Japan defeated China 3-1 in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. In the first leg match between the two teams in September, the Japanese team had defeated China 7-0.
The Chinese team started the match with excellent defence. However, in the 39th minute, Koki Ogawa scored a header from a corner cross to give Japan a 1-0 lead. In first-half stoppage time, Japan doubled their lead off another corner kick, when Ko Itakura’s header went into the net.
In the third minute of the second half, Lin Liangming opened China’s account with a goal and the score became 2-1.
However, the Japanese silenced the home crowd just six minutes later when Junya Ito broke down the right flank and Ogawa scored his second goal with a header to put Japan ahead 3–1. In the 70th minute, Wei Shihao was close to scoring for China, but his shot was blocked by Japanese goalkeeper Zaion Suzuki. Japan maintained its 3-1 lead till the final whistle and won the match.
Despite the defeat, Chinese team head coach Branko Ivankovic said he was really satisfied with the fighting spirit shown by his players on the field.
He said, “I am happy about our players. Against a strong Japanese team, they fought hard all over the field and were brave to press forward. We did some set piece defending exercises first. A second’s distraction changed the outcome. We will improve our set piece defense in the future and help our players focus more on the field.”
Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu highly praised the Chinese team’s abilities.
“This is a completely different team compared to our first leg match. Chinese coaches are doing a great job in helping their players perform well. It was a tough game from the beginning. We were pushed back for long periods of the game, but we managed to score two goals from set pieces. The first goal from a corner was the turning moment of the match.”
On the other hand, on Tuesday, Indonesia registered its first win in the group by defeating Saudi Arabia 2-0 at home. Japan now have 16 points and top the group with five wins and one draw, while Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and China have six points each in the group.