Asian champions Japan became the first side to qualify for the World Cup finals in Brazil when playmaker Keisuke Honda scored an injury-time penalty to claim a 1-1 draw with Australia in Saitama on Tuesday.
Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni was left to rue a profligate forward line as the Blue Samurai blew a chance to become the first team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
Three moments of late magic helped Uzbekistan, Iraq and Qatar grab key 1-0 wins in World Cup qualifying on Wednesday as Asian champions Japan rode their luck before edging to the brink of a place in Brazil.
North Korea beat Japan 1-0 in a tempestuous World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, the result largely academic with the visiting Blue Samurai already through to the final qualifying round for 2014.
Substitute Tadanari Lee struck a stunning left-foot volley in the second period of extra time to give Japan a 1-0 win over Australia on Saturday and a record fourth Asian Cup title.
The Dutch have good reason to give Japan plenty of respect before their Group E match on Saturday and not just because of the Blue Samurai's surprise victory over Cameroon in their World Cup opener.
Japan romped into the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup as Shinji Okazaki scored a hat-trick to demolish Saudi Arabia 5-0 on a wet and windy Monday at the Al Rayyan Stadium on the edge of the Qatari desert.
Holders Japan enjoyed a Monday stroll in the Newcastle breeze as they swatted aside the meagre challenge of outsiders Palestine to kick off their Asian Cup title defence with a 4-0 victory.
Blue Samurai will not think about playing for a draw to qualify for the World Cup's knockout rounds, according to captain Makoto Hasebe.
It was The Blue Samurai's first win under coach Akira Nishino, who had lost friendlies against Ghana and Switzerland since taking over in April.
Hosts Australia have been named top seeds for the 2015 Asian Cup ahead of next week's draw and will avoid being drawn in the same group as defending champions Japan.
Boosted by 2014 Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez and top scorer Radamel Falcao, a confident Colombia will be looking to demolish low-ranked Japan on Tuesday before moving on to tougher Group H rivals Poland and Senegal.
The 26-year-old trained at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk on Monday but his state of fitness was still unclear.
Marcelo Lippi's first game as China coach ended in a 0-0 draw with Qatar in a World Cup qualifier in Kunming on Tuesday, seriously damaging both team's hopes of reaching the finals in Russia.
European powerhouse France rallied from a goal down to hand a 5-1 drubbing on Honduras and qualify for the knockout stage as group toppers in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Guwahati.
An inspired performance from Douglas Costa helped Brazil to a 3-0 win over Peru on Tuesday and lifted them into third place in the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
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