Japan v Australia: World Cup 2022 qualifier – live!
12-Oct-2021 09:43:20 | The Guardian
- Updates from the Socceroos’ qualifier at Saitama Stadium
- Kick-off tonight is 7:14pm local time, 9:14pm AEDT
- Any thoughts? Email or tweet @mike_hytner
AFC World Cup qualifying explained. If you’re under the impression that qualifying for next year’s World Cup has been drawn out over a number of years already, you are absolutely right. The first of four rounds began back in June 2019, with the likes of Australia and Japan joining the fray in the second phase just over two years ago. Tonight’s two teams progressed from that round as group winners to find themselves here, in the penultimate round of Asian qualification. The eventual winners and runners-up of Group B can skip the final round of qualification and progress directly to Qatar - Australia, with six games remaining after tonight, are on course to do that as they sit pretty at the top of the table with nine points from nine, along with Saudi Arabia. Japan, meanwhile, head into tonight’s game in third, six points adrift of the leaders, and it’s easy to see why there is concern locally. Whoever finishes the group in third is forced into a one-off fourth-round match against the other third-placed team from Group A, with the winner of that game heading into a two-legged intercontinental playoff. Simple really.
The Socceroos are a perfect 11 from 11 so far on the long (and, dare I say, seemingly never-ending) road to the World Cup. They can make it a dozen tonight at Saitama Stadium, and if they do manage to extend their record World Cup qualification winning streak, they can take a big step towards reaching next year’s tournament in Qatar.
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