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JEDDAH: ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ lost 2-0 to Japan in Jeddah on Thursday, their first defeat in the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

Japan had scored 12 goals without reply in their opening two games in the group, and Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada gave them an early lead in this one. The home team, roared on by a passionate crowd of more than 56,000 at King Abdullah Sports City, did their best to get back on level terms but it was beyond them, and a late goal from Koki Ogawa sealed the win for the Samurai Blue.

The focus of the Green Falcons now switches to Tuesday’s clash with Bahrain at the same stadium and it could prove to be a very important one.

Japan lead Group C and are the only team out 18 in the three groups with a maximum 9 points after three games. The Saudis are level with Australia and Bahrain on 4 points, one more than fifth-place Indonesia. China are bottom of the group after three straight defeats. The top two from each of the three groups qualify directly for the World Cup, while the teams that finish third and fourth advance to a fourth round of qualification.

Already trailing Japan by 5 points, ¶¶Òõ¶ÌÊÓƵ are now, as many suspected would be the case, most probably fighting for the second automatic qualification spot. It is shaping up to be an intense battle that will be far from easy for a team that has yet to score a goal from open play in more 270 minutes of third-round action. This lack of a creative spark going forward is sure to be a concern for coach Roberto Mancini.

There were few surprises in the Italian’s squad on Thursday, with Firas Al-Buraikan starting up front and Ahmed Al-Kassar stepping in to pull on the goalkeeping gloves in place of injured Mohammed Al-Owais.

Japan looked lively from the off but Mancini will surely consider the opening goal, which came after 14 minutes, to have been cheaply conceded. Ritsu Doan crossed from the right, Kaoru Mitoma knocked the ball into the middle, it was headed toward goal by Hidemasi Morita, and Kamada was able to nip in front of Abdulelah Al-Malki and stab it home from close range.

It was the first goal Japan had ever scored in the Kingdom and the threats kept coming. Soon after, Ayase Ueda shot just wide, while the Saudis just could not get going in the face of the impressive visitors.

The Green Falcons did manage a flurry of shots just before the half-hour mark but all were blocked by the men in white. Soon after, some crosses into the area caused a few problems for Japan, perhaps not surprisingly given that both Saudi goals in last month’s 2-1 win in China came from corners, as did the goal in their 1-1 draw with Indonesia five days earlier.

The home side seemed like they might finally be getting on top, and their first shot on target came just three minutes before the break. Salem Al-Dawsari ran at the defense and the ball spilled to the right, where a fierce shot from Saud Abdulhamid looked destined for the top corner but was pushed over by the suddenly under pressure Zion Suzuki.

Japan remained dangerous on the break, however, and after a smart turn outside the area Ueda’s shot was well-saved by Al-Kassar in what was the last action of the first half.

Mancini brought on Al-Itthad’s Saleh Al-Shehri for the restart, in the hope that the forward might make something happen in front of goal. But Japan remained disciplined and well-organized and it was difficult to create clear chances.

The Saudis were similarly making it hard for Japan to create openings and so it looked increasingly likely that if there was to be another goal it would come from a set piece. This proved to be the case and when Ogawa, who had only been on the pitch for five minutes, headed home powerfully from a corner with nine minutes remaining, it was as good as game over.

There was no coming back from that, although Al-Shehri did have the hosts’ best chance of the game in the 89th minute when he headed just over from close range.

There is now a lot of work for Mancini and his players to do if they are going to qualify automatically for a seventh World Cup finals.