Socceroos held to valiant draw by Japan in Saitama

Tony Popovic is speaking now.

“We had the lead and unfortunately it was an own goal in the end,” he says.

“It was wonderful character in the group

“We’re happy with the result, of course. But we want to expect more.

“We tried to play. They win the ball back quickly. This was a huge test, but they hung in their the whole time. We were very resolute at the back.

“We’ll reflect on a good October window. In November, we want to play better.”

Harry Souttar is speaking to Paramount now.

“It was a tough evening,” the giant defender said.

“I thought the way we tried to play was really brave. We were brave to play, brave off the ball

“Look, we got a little bit lucky with the goal, but so did they.

“It’s a good point.”

He then says that he’s a bit disappointed with the point, feeling perhaps the Socceroos could have won the game.

“We look forward to the November games,” he says.

Souttar says the Socceroos played music on the bus and that the delay did not affect them.

“That’s one of these things. The boys were fine, we played music on the bus, we were confident coming into the game.

“We’re not gunna use that as an excuse. We started the game pretty well.”

Socceroos captain Jackson Irvine is speaking post-match.

He says that the difficult moments are when the Socceroos stand up.

“That’s when this team seems to thrive,” he says.

“In the most difficult moments we stand up, no excuses.

“I’m very proud of the team.

“We defended well in the hard moments, until the very last ball.”

Of course, the drama pre-match surrounded the Socceroos late arrival to the stadium.

The did not impact Irvine though.

“It is what it is,” he says.

“When circumstances are out of your control, it’s simple, You just have to go and do it.

“The boys rolled their sleeves up.”

He praises the backroom staff for getting them into the best frame of mind, saying he can’t speak higher of them.

He also got a little bit chocked up when speaking about what being skipper meant to him.

There was a brief promise of more.

Would it have been deserved? Hard to say.

Well, not that hard.

The Socceroos had one shot, none on target, and just 34 per cent possession.

However, they came within 15 minutes of a first ever victory in Japan against the Blue Samurai.

Japan huffed with their 12 shots, but the fact they only managed three on target suggests they didn’t really puff as much as the 63,000 home supporters would have expected.

All in all, the Socceroos would be very happy with that, especially given all the drama pre game, where the team were stuck in traffic for two hours and only arrived at the stadium 45 minutes before kick off.

Souttar heads the ball over his own crossbar. as Japan really press for a winner, roared on by this 63,700-strong crowd.

The corner is swept in and Gauci takes a great grab.

Mitoma was on the charge, so Burgess felled him.

Time enough for a winner, for someone…

A robust challenge from Goodwin.

That’s his second booking of this phase of qualifying so he will miss the match in Melbourne against Saudi Arabia.

Goodwin replaces Lewis Miller.

Ito is electric. He is invigorating this game with some brilliant runs.

First he goes diagonally across the field, linking up with Nakamura, but his ball inside is scrappily cleared by the Socceroos.

The danger is not passed though, and Ito is the target for the next ball too before a foul releases the pressure on the Aussies.

Nakamura is on the rampage!

That’s a terrific run from the left winger, racing towards the penalty area, swinging in a cross towards the new man Ogawa, but Gauci dives out and stops the ball.

He had to be perfect there, the Aussie keeper.

And he was.

Striker Kogi Ogawa comes into the fray in place of Ueda.

Lewis Miller goes off, looking like he’s got a sore hamstring.

That’s hardly surprising. He’s been tested all night and barely had 20 minutes to warm up after the Socceroos were delayed in traffic coming to the ground.

Keanu Baccus is his replacement.

Patrick Yazbekis booked, but the Socceroos are angry because they feel that Riley McGree was fouled first.

They have a point too.

Mitoma now.

He picks up the ball on the left side and races towards the edge of the penalty area, cuts inside and sees a shot deflected behind for a corner.

Ito swings the corner in and the blue wave of shirts rises to meet it, but Souttar hammers it away.

Not far enough – Ito comes again, swinging in an awkward cross towards the back post and its gathered by Gauci.

It’s an own goal!

Keito Nakamura with all the tricks down the left side, a wicked cross once he got to the byline, and then a heartbreaking moment for Ipswich’s Cameron Burgess.

There was little the Tractor boy could do about it – the ball came in at such pace and all he could do was stick a foot at it and the ball flew off his boot into the net.

A corner for Japan from the left side of the pitch, swung in and punched with interest by Gauci.

Japan keeps possession but the cry of anguish tells us that the hosts cannot find a final pass and it foes away for a goalkick.

He is going off, in fact., just limping off.

And so is Jordan Bos – a wise decision from Tony Popovic.

Aziz Behich comes on as a like-for-like replacement, and Nishan Velupillay is also on.