Japan takes a breath; South Korea and Iran, firm towards Qatar 2022

Japan, which began its erratic journey in the qualifying phase for the World Cup in Qatar, took air this Thursday with a victory over Vietnam (0-1) with which he was placed one point behind the second of group B, Australia, in a day in which Iran and South Korea rule with strength in A.

The Japanese team needed to win yes or yes and did not fail. After losing to Oman On the first day and against Saudi Arabia on the third, he had to come back from Vietnam with three points in his pocket so as not to fall behind the first two positions.

Men led by Hajime Moriayasu they played a difficult match that started well with a bit early by Junya Ito with a close-range shot that was enough to win. Always present in a World Cup since France 1998, Japan remains in the fight with a goal that is key in their aspirations to accumulate their seventh consecutive World Cup.

Now, with five games to go to finish the Asian zone third qualifying round, Japan is third, one point behind Australia, who drew without goals in his visit to the leader, Saudi Arabia, which with thirteen points marks the passage of group B.

In A, for the moment, two teams are untouchable: Iran and South Korea. The two won their commitments and already have a fairly large income compared to the third, Lebanon, which is six points behind the Korean table and eight points from the Iranian.

Precisely, the leader, Iran, took charge of taking all the points from Lebanon, who lost 1-2 when it looked like he was going to win the match. Soony Saad put Lebanon ahead in the first half and the team led by Croatian Dragan Skocic turned the score around in added time: first, Zénit forward Sardar Azmoun scored in the 91st minute and then, in the 95th minute, Ahmad Nourollahi unleashed euphoria among his teammates with 1-2.

South Korea, for its part, beat the United Arab Emirates 1-0 with a penalty from Wolves striker Hwang-Hee-chan. It was enough to put the Asian team closer and closer to a World Cup. He has not missed an appointment since Mexico 1986 and he does not want to fail in Qatar 2022 either.