THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
November 16, 2024 at 10:55 JST
Japan's Wataru Endo, left, and Takumi Minamino, second right, battle for the ball against Indonesia's Ragnar Oratmangoen, second left, Rafael Struick, center, and Justin Hubner, right, during their 2026 World Cup Asian 3rd round qualifier soccer match at Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium in Jakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 15, 2024. (AP Photo)
JAKARTA, Indonesia--Japan defeated Indonesia 4-0 on Friday to move seven points clear at the top of Group C in the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Two goals in each half mean the Samurai Blue stays on course for an eighth successive World Cup appearance.
After a bright start from the home team, the 78,000 fans at a sold-out Gelora Bung Karno Stadium were silenced after 35 minutes as Daichi Kamada broke down the left and sent a cross which defender Justin Hubner put into his own net from close range.
Takumi Minamino then scored from inside the area off Kaoru Mitoma’s pass to extend the lead five minutes before the break.
Hidemasa Motira took advantage of an errant pass from Indonesia’s goalkeeper to make it 3-0 early in the second half and Yukinari Sugawara rounded out the scoring in the 69th minute.
Japan tops the group on 13 points with five games remaining in the round. Australia, Saudi Arabia and China all have six points, followed by Bahrain with five and Indonesia with three.
The top two from each of the three groups will be guaranteed a place at the World Cup, with the third- and fourth-place teams progressing to the next stage.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
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