{"id":143121,"date":"2021-10-12T13:40:10","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T13:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=143121"},"modified":"2021-10-12T13:56:15","modified_gmt":"2021-10-12T13:56:15","slug":"socceroos-hurting-as-cruel-moment-ends-streak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=143121","title":{"rendered":"Socceroos 'hurting' as cruel moment ends streak"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Socceroos<\/a>' 11-game winning streak has come to an end after going down to Japan 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier<\/a> in Saitama.<\/p>\n

It was a heartbreaking finish for Australia after a late own goal rubbed out a stunning free kick from Ajdin Hrustic that had just levelled the match.<\/p>\n

The own goal to Aziz Behich in the 85th minute proved the difference as the defender's attempt to clear a deflected shot took a turn for the worst.<\/p>\n

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\"Aziz<\/p>\n

There was little Behich could do after a big save from Socceroos goalkeeper Mat Ryan deflected onto the back post before making contact with the defender.<\/p>\n

"With how it played out, it hurts," Ryan said after the game.<\/p>\n

"I feel hard done by with the bad luck and how that second goal went in.<\/p>\n

"It hurts to concede late."<\/p>\n

Tonight's clash looked destined to head for a draw when Hrustic's 69th-minute free kick beat Japanese goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda before hitting the crossbar and bouncing in.<\/p>\n

But for most of the night, the Socceroos were forced to play from behind.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Ben Simmons tipped to backflip on stalemate and return to the Sixers<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Japan, who were in desperate need of a win, couldn't have asked for a better start after Ao Tanaka found the net in the opening 10 minutes.<\/p>\n

Tanaka's goal came on the back of a wonderful cross from Liverpool star Takumi Minamino, which Behich attempted to clear but was unable to, missing the ball which rolled to Tanaka who made the most of the opportunity.<\/p>\n

\":<\/p>\n

"I thought it was a great spectacle to watch … it was an exciting game and at the end of the day, we were unlucky and conceded a deflected goal," said Socceroos coach Graham Arnold.<\/p>\n

"Both teams had a go at each other," Socceroos coach Graham Arnold said.<\/p>\n

"We were unlucky that we hit the post but … at the end of the day, it wasn't meant to be but we are on nine points after four games."<\/p>\n

With six games to go, Australia is now with three wins and one loss in Group B.<\/p>\n

They face Saudi Arabia next.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> Retirement rumours for Tyson Fury after historic win<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Australia must finish either first or second in Group B to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.<\/p>\n

A third-place finish would send the Socceroos to a dreaded play-off with the nation who finishes third from Group A.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Japan's hopes of making it a smooth qualification for their sport in the World Cup improved.<\/p>\n

Having won only one match from their first three games, the Samurai Blue and coach Hajime Moriyasu were under pressure to perform.<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Socceroos' 11-game winning streak has come to an end after going down to Japan 2-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Saitama. It was […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143121"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=143121"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143121\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":143123,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143121\/revisions\/143123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=143121"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=143121"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=143121"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}