BANGKOK (6 Sept 2016) – Takuma Asano puts his disappointment over the disallowed goal last week behind him when he led Japan to a 2-0 win over Thailand in the third round qualifiers of the 2018 World Cup here tonight at Rajamangala Stadium.
Japan, who had lost their first game in the qualifiers 2-1 to the UAE with Asano being disallowed an obvious goal, did not suffer such ignominy this time round when he played a pivotal role throughout the night before scoring the second goal after the break.
Genki Haraguchi had scored Japan’s first goal in the 18th minute when he nodded home a Hiroki Sakai cross. The scoreline could have been a lot wider had it not been for the excellent work of Muangthong keeper Kawin Thamsatchanan who made several crucial saves in front of a sellout crowd.
Japan finally prised open their second goal of the game in the 75th minute when Asano slammed home ahead of the diving Kawin for the full points.
