Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Hwaseong: Youngster Yuya Osako scored a winner in the 79th minute as reigning Asian champions Japan edged Australia 3-2 in a thrilling match of the East Asian Football Federation (EAFF) Cup on Thursday.
With the win, Japan, who had defeated the Socceroos 1-0 in the final of the AFC Asian Cup 2011, topped the table with four points from two matches while China and Korea Republic are on equal terms having drawn their two previous matches.
A win for Korea Republic over Japan on Sunday combined with Australia’s win over China will see the Korean grabbing the winners’ trophy but both Japan and China have equal chances of claiming the pole position. The Australians will face China for pride on Sunday.
Osako scored two goals in the second half after Manabu Saito opened the Japanese account in the 26th minute.
As it looked like an easy outings for the Japanese after Osako scored his first in the 56th minute, Australia hit back with two goals in the space of two minutes. Mitchell Duke made it 2-1 in the 76th minute and Tomi Juric levelled the score 2-2 in the 78th minute for the Holger Osieck’s side.
Japan, who had blown away two-goal lead in their first match against China, ensured that they walk away with all the points in their bag as Osako fired home the second just a minute after Juric’s leveller.
Both the sides, who were locked 1-1 in the both the legs of the FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifiers, have booked a place in the next year’s World Cup as well as in the AFC Asian Cup 2015.
Photo: FIFA.com