SYDNEY (REUTERS) - Japan on Thursday (Nov 11) took advantage of Australia's 0-0 home stalemate with Saudi Arabia to haul themselves back into contention to qualify automatically for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Junya Ito's strike in the 17th minute was enough to secure a 1-0 away victory over Vietnam, enabling the Samurai Blue to close the gap to the second-place Socceroos (10) to just a point in Group B after five games.
Leaders Saudi Arabia spoiled Australia's homecoming party to retain their three-point advantage over the hosts.
Australia, with only one loss in their last 13 matches and playing their first match on home soil in more than two years, dominated possession but could not make the most of the opportunities they created in front of a crowd of 23,214 at a rain-soaked Western Sydney Stadium.
The Saudis, looking to extend their winning streak to 10 matches, rode their luck at times in the first 75 minutes but had a flurry of chances towards the end of the contest which they failed to convert.
"Obviously, we wanted the three points to give to the fans, it's been so long," said Australia captain Mathew Leckie.
"But we had a great performance tonight and we were just centimetres away from scoring a couple of goals. Just one of those games when the ball didn't want to go in."
Restrictions put in place to contain Covid-19 had kept Australia on the road since late 2019 and the team had hoped the crowd would help them bounce back from their 2-1 loss to Japan in their last match, a defeat that ended an 11-game winning streak.
The Saudis rode their luck at times in the first 75 minutes but had a flurry of chances towards the end of the contest to snatch a victory and extend their winning streak to 10 matches.
"Obviously we wanted the three points to give to the fans, it's been so long," said Australia captain Mathew Leckie.
"But we had a great performance tonight and we were just centimetres away from scoring a couple of goals. Just one of those games when the ball didn't want to go in."
Restrictions put in place to contain Covid-19 had kept Australia on the road since late 2019 and they had hoped the crowd would help them bounce back from their loss to Japan in their last match, a defeat that ended an 11-game winning streak.
However, Graham Arnold's men could not breach the Gulf side's defence and also suffered a blow when Stoke defender Harry Souttar was taken off with a "very serious" injury that will all but rule him out of next week's World Cup qualifier against China in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
"Probably too early for me to say too much about it, he's in considerable pain. He'll be having scans tomorrow but I don't think he'll be coming to the UAE," Arnold said.
"At this moment, I'm really feeling bad for Harry, he's a great guy, and I believe he's the best centre-back in Asia."
The top two teams qualify directly for Qatar next year and Arnold remains confident of Australia's chances despite the missed opportunity.
"Overall, it was a very good performance, we had our chances to score," he said. "The Saudis fought back when our boys showed a bit of fatigue and I think in the end a draw was a fair result."
In Group A, Iran maintained their two-point lead over second-place South Korea (11) after Sardar Azmoun and Ahmad Nourollahi netted twice in added time for a 2-1 win over Lebanon, dashing the hosts' hopes of an upset.
The Taeguk Warriors beat UAE 1-0, thanks to Hwang Hee-chan's penalty, and Group A looks more straightforward, with the top two teams enjoying a big gap over the rest of their opponents.
