Japan beats Australia and Saudi Arabia draw China, Both qualify for Qatar World Cup 2022.
Japan qualified for a seventh straight World Cup by beating Australia 2-0 Thursday and ended the Socceroos’ chances of automatic qualification.
The result in Sydney which saw the Saudi Arabian side draw against China but Qualified from Group B.
Japan has 21 points in the group, two more than the Saudis ahead of their match against China later Thursday.
Australia remains in contention for a playoff spot in third place. The Aussies face a playoff against the third-place team from Group A and a possible final game against South American opposition.
Australia now has to focus on qualifying for the World Cup via the playoff route for a second straight time.
In the group’s B fixtures, Saudi Arabia drew 1-1 with China while Oman won 1-0 against Vietnam in Hanoi.
In Group A, South Korea defeated Iran 2-0 in Seoul to move into first place. Son Heung-min and Kim Young-gwon scored a goal each.
Both teams had already secured their World Cup spots — South Korea for the 10th straight time.
Hussein Ali gave Iraq a 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in Riyadh to move the team into fourth place, one point behind the host in third.
Also, last-place Syria defeated Lebanon 3-0 in Sidon in a game that was suspended for around 30 minutes in the second half due to crowd disturbances.
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