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Japan v Australia: 2026 World Cup qualifier – live


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Japan team news

Hajime Moriyasu makes one change from the team that beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Jeddah: Real Sociedad’s Take Kubo replaces Daichi Kamada.

Japan (3-4-2-1) Suzuki; Itakura, Taniguchi, Machida; Doan, Endo, Morita, Mitoma; Minamino, Kubo; Ueda.
Substitutes: Sugawara, Fujita, Maeda, Osako, Nakamura, Ito, Kamada, Mochizuki, Ogawa, Hatate, Seko, Tani.

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Socceroos team news

Tony Popovic has changed more than half the XI that started against China on Thursday. Not sure anyone saw that coming.

In Jason Geria, Cam Burgess, Jordy Bos, Luke Brattan, Ajdin Hrustic, Riley McGree

Out Thomas Deng, Kye Rowles, Aiden O’Neill, Aziz Behich, Craig Goodwin, Nestory Irankunda.

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Paul Williams on Japan’s rise

The foundation for Japan’s modern-day success, with a depth of talent the envy of the continent, is the domestic J League, founded in 1993 and now boasting 60 teams across three divisions – all connected by promotion and relegation. The A-League, by comparison, still has only 13 teams and no prospect of an aligned second division on the horizon.

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Preamble

Hello and welcome to live coverage of the Socceroos’ World Cup qualifier against Japan in Saitama. It’s not often Australia are rank outsiders in an Asian Federation game but that’s the case tonight. They haven’t beaten Japan since 2009 and are already five points behind them in Group C. The 3-1 win over China on Thursday restored a bit of order but the fact Japan won the equivalent fixture 7-0 tells you where Australia are right now.

While the games against Saudi Arabia and Bahrain will probably determine whether Australia take the second automatic qualification place, this match is a useful health check against the highest-ranked team in Asia. A draw would a terrific result; a win would be one for the books.

Kick off 9.35pm AEDT/7.35pm local

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