Daichi Kamada says Japan can close in on World Cup place against Australia

TOKYO: Crystal Palace midfielder Daichi Kamada said an eighth straight World Cup appearance will be within Japan’s grasp if they beat Australia next week, after extending their perfect record in qualifying.

Japan beat Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Jeddah on Thursday to make it three wins out of three in the decisive third round of Asian qualifying.

They are five points clear at the top of Group C, with the top two teams securing direct passage to the 2026 World Cup and the third- and fourth-placed countries facing another qualifying phase.

Japan face second-place Australia in Saitama on Tuesday and Kamada said they can all but book their place at the finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico with a win.

“We’re playing our next game at home in front of lots of fans, and we have to win,” he was quoted as saying by Japanese media. “If we win the next game, the World Cup will start to feel very close for us, so we want to work hard.”

Kamada scored Japan’s first goal against the Saudis in front of more than 56,000 fans at King Abdullah Sports City, before substitute Koki Ogawa cemented the win with a header eight minutes from time.

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Kamada has yet to score for Palace since his summer arrival at the London club, who are third from bottom in the Premier League table.

“I put it away nicely,” the 28-year-old said.

“As a team, we always talk about the forward players getting into goalscoring positions, so it was good that I was there to finish it off.” The result left Saudi Arabia, coached by Roberto Mancini, in third place on goal difference behind Australia.

Kamada said Jeddah was a “difficult” place to play, having lost to the Saudis there in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.

“There are lots of fans and they are very passionate, and Saudi Arabia are a good team,” he said.

“We were prepared for a tough game but we had the experience of playing here last time, and we made good use of that tonight.”