Sydney, June 5 -- Australia almost guaranteed qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by beating Japan on Thursday night.
Veteran defender Aziz Behich scored the only goal in the 90th minute to steer the Socceroos to a 1-0 victory over Japan at Perth Stadium in Western Australia.
The result means that Australia has a six-point and +10 goal difference advantage over Saudi Arabia in the race for second place in Group C in the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
In order to secure second place and qualification for a sixth consecutive World Cup, the Socceroos need only to avoid a heavy defeat against Saudi Arabia in Jeddah on Tuesday, or for Saudi Arabia to fail to beat Bahrain later on Thursday.
Behich's goal, hi...