Japan down Oz, seal Cup berth
Saitama, Aug. 31: Takuma Asano and Yosuke Ideguchi were on target as Japan beat Australia 2-0 at home on Thursday to qualify for their sixth successive World Cup.
Asano steered home a left-foot volley four minutes before half-time and Ideguchi sealed the victory with a stunning longrange strike after 82 minutes as Japan became the fourth team to reach next year’s finals in Russia.
The result dealt a major blow to Australia’s chances of being one of the two automatic qualifiers
Competition for places is fierce with head coach Loew having called up 17 of the squad which won the Confederations Cup in July and named just seven World Cup winners.
World Cup-winners Thomas Mueller, Kroos, Mats Hummels, Mesut Ozil and Khedira, if he is fit, are likely to return to the starting line-up after missing the Confed Cup triumph.
Mueller will be looking to blow off his frustration at Bayern Munich, having from Group B after their first defeat in the final round of Asian qualifiers.
The Asian Cup holders get a second bite at the cherry at home to Thailand on Tuesday when they need to better Saudi Arabia’s result against Japan in Jeddah on the same night.
Australia and Saudi Arabia have 16 points but the Saudis have a better goal difference. Brazil and Japan’s Asian rivals Iran have already qualified for next year’s World Cup, alongside tournament hosts Russia.
been left on the bench by Carlo Ancelotti until the final 17 minutes of Saturday’s 2-0 win at Werder Bremen.
“Thomas Mueller is one of a kind, he is a big name for us,” said Bierhoff.
“It can happen that one doesn’t play, I just hope that Bayern realise he is an identity figure for people who come to the stadium.
“A striker always needs some support, but he is quite relaxed when he is with us.”