Yuya Osako scored the only goal as Japan bounced back from their surprise loss to Oman on the opening matchday in Group B of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Asian Qualifiers with a 1-0 win over China at Khalifa International Stadium yesterday.
Hajime Moriyasu’s team had few concerns on their way to a victory over a Chinese side that offered little threat despite an improved performance in the second half, and Li Tie’s side remain without a point having also lost their opener against Australia last week.
Japan picked up their first points and the win will have lifted some of the pressure that was growing on head coach Moriyasu after the disappointing performance on home soil against Branko Ivankovic’s side on Thursday.
In the Qatari capital yesterday, Takehiro Tomiyasu returned to the centre of Japan’s defence to partner Maya Yoshida after missing the Oman loss, but the newly minted Arsenal centre half barely broke sweat in the first 45 minutes as Moriyasu’s team dominated possession.
Five minutes from the break, Junya Ito seared past Wang Shenchao before sending over the waist-high cross that Osako expertly volleyed home.
In Hanoi, Rhyan Grant’s header earned Australia back-to-back victories with a 1-0 win over Vietnam, while in Suwon, South Korea too beat Lebanon with the same scoreline.
The South Koreans, meanwhile, secured their first win in Group B. Kwon Chang-hoon netted two minutes after coming off the bench against Lebanon to earn the home side a narrow victory after a scoreless draw with Iraq last Thursday.

Iran win 3-0
In the late match yesterday, Iran recorded a comfortable 3-0 win against Iraq in the Qatari capital.
Just three minutes into the game, Iran opened the scoring thanks to Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s thunderous header.
Team Melli doubled their lead with 20 minutes left on the clock when they broke forward with Azmoun on the left receiving the ball, and hoofing it high up towards the penalty area where an onrushing Taremi expertly controlled the ball under pressure from two defenders, before sliding it low between goalkeeper Fahad Talib’s feet.
Substitute Ali Gholizadeh made it 3-0 with under a minute left of normal time, after receiving fellow substitute Karim Ansarifard’s pass, comfortably controlling the ball in the six-yard box under virtually no pressure, before firing low towards goal.