Japan beat Australia to qualify for 2018 World Cup

TOKYO - 31 Aug 2017: Japan qualified for the 2018 World Cup by beating Australia 2-0 in their penultimate Asian qualifying Group B tie in Saitama on Thursday.

Goals from Takuma Asano and Yosuke Ideguchi either side of halftime helped the Samurai Blue join Iran and Brazil in qualifying for the 32-team tournament, which will be held in Russia from June 14 to July 15 next year.