Sports
Japan Crush China 7-0 In World Cup Qualifiers
Brighton winger Mitoma, making his first appearance for Japan since the Asian Cup in January after recovering from injury, marked his return with a first-half header in front of over 50,000 fans in Saitama. Liverpool’s Endo had earlier opened the scoring.
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Takumi Minamino added two goals after the break, putting Japan firmly in control against a China side aiming to qualify for their first World Cup since 2002.
Junya Ito, returning to the national team alongside Mitoma, scored another, while late goals from Daizen Maeda and Takefusa Kubo completed the rout for Hajime Moriyasu’s team.
Despite the lopsided scoreline, captain Endo insisted the victory “wasn’t easy.”
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“We came onto the pitch with positive energy,” he said.
“We got the first goal from a set piece and then we played our own football and the goals kept coming. We got the three points, and it was a great game.”
It was a night to forget for China, who squeezed into the third qualifying round thanks to a superior head-to-head record over Thailand.
“Japan are very strong. They are the top team in Asia, and it’s not just Asia—they are a world-class team,” said China’s Croatian coach Branko Ivankovic.
“We will work together and see if there is anything we can learn from this game,” he added.
Japan and China have also been drawn with Australia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Indonesia in a tricky-looking Group C.
Japan play Bahrain away on Tuesday, while China face Saudi Arabia at home on the same day.
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