Australia secure valuable point in hard-fought 1-1 draw with Japan

Australia earned a valuable point in FIFA World Cup 2026™ Round Three qualifying after their game with Japan ended 1-1 at Saitama Stadium 2002 on Tuesday night.
On a warm evening in Saitama, Tony Popovic’s side built on their positive display against China PR in Adelaide last week, with another promising performance against Group C leaders, Japan.
In a hard-fought encounter with Samurai Blue, it looked like the Socceroos might secure a historic win in Saitama, after taking the lead through a Shogo Taniguchi own goal, before Cam Burgess was unfortunate to deflect the ball into his own net to give Japan a share of the spoils.