Japan shows off its power, 'little Messi' proves his class

Having to play away at the Xiamen Egret Stadium of the Chinese team, Japan is considered to be superior and has the strongest squad. In the last 7 meetings, Japan is undefeated and has 5 wins against the Chinese team. In the first leg (September 2024), the Japanese team also showed beautiful attacking football, winning China 7-0. The team from the land of the rising sun is creating a 7-point gap with the chasing group behind and only needs 1 win against China, the ticket to the 7th consecutive World Cup is almost certainly in Japan's hands.

Meanwhile, the Chinese team, despite winning their last two matches (beating Indonesia 2-1 and Bahrain 1-0), only ranked 4th in Group C with 6 points. Although determined to win points against Japan, coach Ivankovic admitted that this goal will not be easy. That becomes even more difficult when the Chinese team does not have the strongest squad, missing important defender Li Lei.

Coach Ivankovic's team still cannot rest assured despite having just won 2 matches.

Compared to the 4-0 win over Indonesia in the 5th round, coach Moriyasu made 4 changes to the lineup. Notably, the 56-year-old coach let Takefusa Kubo replace the star Mitoma. In response, the player nicknamed "little Messi" performed with class, helping the Japanese team lead 2-0 after the first half.

In terms of the game, the Japanese team changed their playing style compared to the previous 5 matches, actively playing slowly. Takefusa Kubo was the center of this style of play, touching the ball 30 times - the most on the field. Not only showing off his skills on the 2 wings, the midfielder currently playing for Real Sociedad (Spain) also continuously moved wide to play the ball, opening up space for his teammates. In the 25th minute, Takefusa Kubo had a favorable pass, putting Nakamura in an open position but his shot was inaccurate. In the 35th minute, Takefusa Kubo made a brave dribble, curving the ball into the far corner but fortunately for the home team China, goalkeeper Wang Dalei made an excellent save.

Takefusa Kubo (No. 20) had a classy performance against China

However, Takefusa Kubo did not have to regret for too long. In the corner kick that followed, striker Ogawa had a beautiful header, helping Japan lead 1-0. The person who assisted Ogawa to score was none other than Takefusa Kubo . Continuing the excitement, in the last minute of injury time of the first half, center back Itakura scored the second goal for Japan. Notably, this goal also came from a corner kick.

In contrast to Japan's efficiency, the Chinese team did not show much in the first half. Coach Ivankovic's team only had 30% possession, had 3 shots but all missed the target.

Japan team leads 2-0 thanks to 2 corner kicks

With nothing left to lose, the Chinese team changed their tactics, pushing up their attacking formation at the beginning of the second half. In the 48th minute, striker Lin Liangming unexpectedly reduced the score to 1-2. However, the home team's joy did not last long when just 6 minutes later, Ogawa completed his double after a favorable assist from Junya Ito. Kubo Takefusa also left his mark on this goal with a favorable pass for Junya Ito to assist.

Starting from the 60th minute, the Japanese team made many changes in their lineup, no longer interested in attacking. However, every time they attacked, the "Blue Samurai" still made the Chinese team's goal wobble. On the opposite side, apart from Lin Liangming's goal, the Chinese team still had many difficulties in attacking and did not have any more dangerous shots.

Japan team has easy victory on China's field

With an easy 3-1 victory on the Chinese team's field, Japan extended their unbeaten streak in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia to 6 matches. Coach Moriyasu's team has 16 points, firmly in the top position of Group C. Meanwhile, the Chinese team has 6 points after 6 matches, equal with Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia, but dropped to 5th place due to inferior sub-index.

In the same match in Group A, Uzbekistan won 1-0 against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The player who brought the only goal for Uzbekistan was young star Abbosbek Fayzullaev (minute 44). Uzbekistan is currently ranked 2nd, with 13 points equal to the top team Iran but has played 1 more match.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/chu-nha-trung-quoc-thua-dam-nhat-ban-thi-uy-suc-manh-tieu-messi-chung-to-dang-cap-185241119200219676.htm