Japan scored three unanswered goals to see off Qatar's challenge and claim their second win in the final round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers at the Al Sadd stadium today.
Japan opened the scoring after 19 minutes through Tatsuya Tanaka before Keiji Tamada scored the second goal for his side two minutes after the break. Marcus Tulio Tanaka sealed the game with a third goal after 68 minutes.
Japan's win leaves them in second place in Group One, two points behind leaders Australia, while Qatar remain third five points off the pace.
Qatar kicked off the game with a chance after only eight minutes when Ibrahim Majed followed a cross from the right with a powerful header, but the ball went wide.
However, it was Japan who had the best chances in the next minutes of the game and they could have opened the scoring after 15 minutes when Marcus Tulio Tanaka forced Qatar goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr to save his powerful shot from long range.
Japan continued their dominance and they nearly opened the scoring two minutes later when Tatsuya Tanaka had a shot from outside the area but the ball went wide.
However, Tanaka was not denied in the 19th minute when he received a cross from Atsuto Uchida from long distance before going into the area to score with a powerful shot between the legs of Saqr.
Japan doubled their lead early in the second half when Makoto Hasebe passed to Keiji Tamada who fired a left-foot drive from just inside the area past the helpless Saqr.
It should have been 3-0 after 56 minutes when Yoshito Okubo beat Ibrahim Majed to the ball and went into the area before firing a powerful shot only for Saqr to tip the ball over to a corner.
Japan sealed the game eight minutes after the hour mark when Shunsuke Nakamura sent a cross from the left which was followed by Marcus Tulio Tanaka with a header from tight angle.
The Japanese nearly added a fourth goal in the 73rd minute when Makoto Hasebe was first to reach a clearance from the Qatari defence, but his shot from outside the area went over the crossbar.
ends
Japan's win leaves them in second place in Group One, two points behind leaders Australia, while Qatar remain third five points off the pace.
Qatar kicked off the game with a chance after only eight minutes when Ibrahim Majed followed a cross from the right with a powerful header, but the ball went wide.
However, it was Japan who had the best chances in the next minutes of the game and they could have opened the scoring after 15 minutes when Marcus Tulio Tanaka forced Qatar goalkeeper Mohamed Saqr to save his powerful shot from long range.
Japan continued their dominance and they nearly opened the scoring two minutes later when Tatsuya Tanaka had a shot from outside the area but the ball went wide.
However, Tanaka was not denied in the 19th minute when he received a cross from Atsuto Uchida from long distance before going into the area to score with a powerful shot between the legs of Saqr.
Japan doubled their lead early in the second half when Makoto Hasebe passed to Keiji Tamada who fired a left-foot drive from just inside the area past the helpless Saqr.
It should have been 3-0 after 56 minutes when Yoshito Okubo beat Ibrahim Majed to the ball and went into the area before firing a powerful shot only for Saqr to tip the ball over to a corner.
Japan sealed the game eight minutes after the hour mark when Shunsuke Nakamura sent a cross from the left which was followed by Marcus Tulio Tanaka with a header from tight angle.
The Japanese nearly added a fourth goal in the 73rd minute when Makoto Hasebe was first to reach a clearance from the Qatari defence, but his shot from outside the area went over the crossbar.
ends
Copyright (c) Press Association
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