On Tuesday 25 March, SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team) played their eighth match in the final round of the FIFA World Cup 26™ Asian qualifiers at Saitama Stadium 2002, where they drew 0-0 with the Saudi Arabia National Team. The result took their tally to 20 points from six wins and two draws in the round and secured the top spot in Group C with two games remaining.

Japan head coach MORIYASU Hajime made six changes to his side after they booked their place at the FIFA World Cup 26™ with a 2-0 win over Bahrain on Thursday 20 March. MAEDA Daizen (Celtic FC) started as a central striker, while KAMADA Daichi (Crystal Palace) started as one of the attacking midfielders. NAKAMURA Keito (Stade de Reims) and SUGAWARA Yukinari (Southampton FC) were deployed on the flanks, while TANAKA Ao (Leeds United) anchored the midfield and TAKAI Kota (Kawasaki Frontale) started as one of three defenders at the back.

Despite making several changes to the starting line-up, Japan demonstrated excellent teamwork from the outset, with KUBO Takefusa (Real Sociedad) and Sugawara working well together on the right, while Nakamura attempted to break through on the left to keep the pressure on the visitors.

The first big opportunity came in the ninth minute when Maeda responded to Tanaka's through ball and fired a shot that ricocheted off the post. Two minutes later, Nakamura latched on to Kamada's pass before sending a sharp cross towards the centre that almost found Maeda in the near side. In the 19th minute, Maeda won possession deep in the opposition half before unleashing a shot from inside the area that was denied by the goalkeeper.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, who moved up to third place after beating China PR 1-0 at home on Thursday, opted to field a five-man defence instead of their usual four in a bid to close the gap on second-placed Australia, who held a one-point lead on them prior to this match.

In the 22nd minute, a long ball from a free kick was sent into the space behind the Japanese defence and Marwan ALSAHAFI broke through, but goalkeeper SUZUKI Zion (Parma Calcio 1913) came out of the box to prevent the opposition from taking a shot. Moments later, Muhannad ALSHANQITI latched onto a cross from the left at the far post, but his header was off target.

Japan continued to attack, maintaining a high possession rate and creating a number of chances, including a mid-range shot from Kubo in the 27th minute and an effort from Nakamura in the 36th minute, but both were unable to find the back of the net.

In the second half, Japan continued to pile on the pressure, but Saudi Arabia, desperate not to concede, defended their goal with more numbers at the back.

In an attempt to break the deadlock, coach Moriyasu brought on ITO Junya (Stade de Reims) and DOAN Ritsu (SC Freiburg) in the 62nd minute, FURUHASHI Kyogo (Stade Rennais) and HATATE Reo (Celtic FC) in the 73rd minute and MINAMINO Takumi (AS Monaco) in the 83rd minute.

More opportunities were created by Japan in the closing minutes, including Takai’s header from a corner in the 73rd minute, Ito's shot from the right side of the box in the 82nd minute and Minamino's effort in the 85th minute, but none of them crossed the Saudi goal line as the match ended in a goalless draw.

Japan were held without a goal for the first time in 29 matches since the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ match against Costa Rica, and their run of matches with at least one goal scored since the 1 December match against Spain came to an end after 28 matches (not including the forfeited match on 26 March 2024), but the one point they gained ensured they finished top of the group.

Elsewhere in Group C, Australia won 2-0 away to China PR to improve their record to three wins, four draws and one loss on 13 points and extend their lead over third-placed Saudi Arabia to three points. Fourth-placed Indonesia won 1-0 at home to Bahrain to move to two wins, three draws and three losses on nine points. Fifth-placed Bahrain and sixth-placed China PR both have six points.

The top two finishers in each group in the AFC Asian Qualifiers will qualify automatically for the FIFA World Cup 26™, while the third and fourth placed teams will go through to the play-offs to qualify.

In Group A, leaders Iran drew 2-2 at home to second-placed Uzbekistan to take their tally to 20 points from six wins and two draws, seven points clear of third-placed UAE, and book their place at the World Cup.

There are two AFC Asian Qualifiers matches remaining. Japan will play away to Australia on Thursday 5 June before returning home to face Indonesia on Tuesday 10 June.

Coaches and Players' Comments

MORIYASU Hajime, Head Coach of SAMURAI BLUE (Japan National Team)
We are disappointed with this result, as we had hoped to deliver a win for all those who have supported us. While we successfully qualified for the World Cup in our previous match, we understood that our ultimate goal lay beyond this qualifier and the players have prepared well in order to achieve another home victory.
I thought the players did well both tactically and mentally. We controlled the game, overpowered the opposition, executed what we set out to do, prevented them from counterattacking and created chances. We came into the game having prepared very well and the players have really expressed that they have bigger goals ahead of this qualifier, which is an approach that will help the team grow in the future.
But when you think about the battles that lie ahead, it's not enough to simply overwhelm your opponents. As a coach, it's important to have plan B, plan C and so on, so that we always have alternative strategies at our disposal. I think this game was a reminder that we need to have options to win as a team. Going forward, we need to consider all possible scenarios and have more tactical options so that we can make changes to our system to exploit our opponents' weaknesses. While we still need to fix some issues, the fact that we were able to keep a clean sheet against a strong Saudi Arabia side is a positive thing. We want to build on our confidence in the way we play the game.
We have been working on raising the overall level of the team and improving our depth. In that sense, the fact that we were able to play without any problems after rotating six players from our game against Bahrain really shows our ability to win games regardless of who is on the pitch. We hope to continue with this approach and strive to improve the team further.

MF/FW #6 ENDO Wataru (Liverpool FC/England)
It was a difficult game. Saudi Arabia set up a block with their 5-4-1 formation and it was a game to see how we could break down their defence. But we were unable to change the tempo of the game and played the same way for the whole 90 minutes. The way we attacked in the final third needs to be improved. However, the way we managed the risks and the fact that we kept a clean sheet is positive, and it's not easy to have such a high possession rate against Saudi Arabia, so I think it was a game where we showed both our good positive side and the issues that need to be addressed. I feel that we have been able to share the same picture of how we want to build our attacks into the final third, so we want to have more options to score goals when we get into those areas.

MF/FW #11 MAEDA Daizen (Celtic FC/Scotland)
Whether I start or come off the bench, my role doesn't change that much, so I went into the game determined to help the team win. I missed a couple of chances in the first half, and I feel that if I had capitalised on them, we could have won by a big margin. The fact that they defended well made the game even tougher, especially as we were anticipating them to come out aggressive with a man-to-man approach. When I hit the post, the ball was rolling out, so I decided to hit the near side instead of the far side. I want to work on that shot when I get back to my club. I feel like I was able to show my abilities, but I will have to reset my mind and try to get results for my club so that I can get called back into the national team in June.

MF/FW #14 ITO Junya (Stade de Reims/France)
Saudi Arabia are a very strong team to start with, but when a team like that puts up a solid defensive block, we have to be really creative to score against them. We've played Saudi Arabia many times, but I'm a bit surprised that they decided to play that defensively. It's difficult to play against any team when they defend like that, so we really need to improve the quality of our crosses and shots to take advantage of the few chances we have. I had an opportunity to shoot and if I had capitalised on it, we would have won 1-0. It is important that we are critical of ourselves. We had a lot of chances in the first half and created a lot of good attacks from the flanks, even though we had rotated most of the starting players. We just need to improve the quality of our play.

MF/FW #15 KAMADA Daichi (Crystal Palace/England)
We were able to dominate possession against Saudi Arabia, who are one of the strongest teams in Asia, but with them sitting so deep it was difficult to create clear-cut chances. We were able to create some good chances from the plays we were looking for, but we couldn't capitalise on them. As the game went on, they started to understand what we were trying to do and made adjustments, so it was a very difficult game. Our opponents were looking to secure a point rather than go for three points, so they weren’t incentivised to attack. It is disappointing that we didn't win the game, but we shouldn’t be too pessimistic about how we played. We should be proud of the fact that we were the dominant side against Saudi Arabia.

MF/FW #17 TANAKA Ao (Leeds United/England)
The result is everything. The game could have been 2-0, 3-0 if we had capitalised on the chances we created in the first half. But the fact that we were able to create chances against a 5-4-1 formation and keep a strong opponent at bay throughout the game is a positive thing to take away. After qualifying for the last World Cup, we were a little relaxed against Vietnam, but today everyone was focused on winning the ball and making quick transitions, so we were able to play the whole game without giving our opponents any real chances. All the players on this team have set themselves high standards to compete at the world level, which allows us to stay focused for the full 90 minutes. However, we still need to work on how we change gear and start attacking in the last 30 or 15 minutes of the game. It is easier for players to deliver long balls and crosses into the area when we have more people in the final third, so that is an aspect we need to improve on in the future.

MF/FW #20 KUBO Takefusa (Real Sociedad/Spain)
I'm really disappointed that we didn't win. It wasn't as if we let our guard down after qualifying for the World Cup, but we need to reflect on the fact that we were held scoreless after dominating the whole game. We all need to improve at our respective clubs and come back stronger in June. We were able to use the half-spaces in the final third, but our opponents had two or three players anticipating our moves. While our opponents were fully prepared to play against us, it felt like we lacked the creativity to break down their defence, especially after we started to dominate possession in the 30th minute. Although we were able to create chances, we need to be able to convert them if we are to compete at the highest level, so this is an area we need to improve on.

Herve RENARD, Head Coach of Saudi Arabia National Team
We got a good result this evening. It was not beautiful, I know. Sorry for the show but we kept our organisation. We were not able to create some opportunities, so even though the team spirit was good technically we were not good enough. At the end of the game, we are behind Australia by three points, but there are still two games, everything can happen. We have to go to Bahrain and Australia will receive Japan, and we will receive Australia in the last game. It's a tough fight. We just have to think about the four points we got during these two games, and we look to be better offensively for the last two games."

AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road To 26

Fixture: SAMURAI BLUE vs Saudi Arabia National Team
Date: Tue. 25 March 2025, 19:35
Venue: Saitama Stadium 2002 (Saitama)
Tournament information