Japan beat Australia to reach WC

SYDNEY, Mar 25 (AFP): Substitute Kaoru Mitoma scored twice in the dying minutes as Japan beat Australia 2-0 on Thursday to book their place at a seventh straight World Cup and in doing so also helped Saudi Arabia qualify.
It was a crushing blow for an understrength Socceroos who now face a perilous play-off to keep alive their hopes of making Qatar.
The game in a wet Sydney looked destined for a draw before Mitoma converted from close range on 89 minutes, and then again after a mazy run in injury time to spark joyous celebrations from the visitors.
"I knew it was going to be a close match so when I was on the bench all I was thinking was, when I got on the field of play I just had to do my job and score a goal," said Mitoma, 24, who plays for Belgium's Union SG on loan from Premier League Brighton.
"I feel really happy for the players and people back in Japan, and everyone who is a Japanese fan."
Victory pushed the Blue Samurai to the top of Asian Group B qualifying on 21 points, six clear of Australia with only one more game to play.
The Saudis, on 19 points, face China in Sharjah later Thursday but are assured of their place in Qatar courtesy of Japan's win.
Australia now cannot finish higher than third, forcing a play-off against the third-placed team in Asian Group A. The winner will then meet a team from South America for the right to play in Qatar later this year.
Japan started their qualifying campaign with two losses from their first three games, but have now won six in a row.
They headed into the high-stakes clash in front of nearly 42,000 fans at Stadium Australia with a clear edge. Australia's last win over them was in 2009 and Hajime Moriyasu's men claimed a crucial 2-1 victory when the two teams met in October.
Australia were also missing a string of players due to coronavirus impacts or injury, including influential duo Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic.
On the other hand, Roberto Mancini was reeling from the most painful defeat of his managerial career after Thursday's stunning, last-gasp 1-0 loss to North Macedonia meant they missed out on their second World Cup in a row.
Mancini had become a national hero after leading the Azzurri back from the horrors of failing to reach the 2018 tournament and winning Euro 2020 last summer.
However performance levels have dropped since those balmy nights and after throwing away automatic qualification in November Italy were dumped out in humiliating fashion in Palermo in a fraught play-off semi-final.
"Just like July was the best thing to happen to me in my career, this is my biggest disappointment... I'm really sad for my players," Mancini told RAI.
"The disappointment is too much for me to speak about my future for now."
If Mancini was vague on whether he would stay in his job the head of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina, was clear that he wanted Mancini to stay on as manager even after a crushing blow for the country's football.