SAITAMA ¨C Man-of the-moment Yuya Kubo scored a goal and set up two more as Japan took a step closer to a sixth straight World Cup appearance with a 4-0 drubbing of Thailand on Tuesday.
Gent striker Kubo, who scored his first international goal in his third appearance in Japan¡¯s 2-0 win over the United Arab Emirates last Thursday, set up Shinji Kagawa for Japan¡¯s opener in the eighth minute at Saitama Stadium before crossing for Shinji Okazaki to double the lead 11 minutes later.
The 23-year-old Kubo then notched one himself as Japan took a three-goal lead early in the second half, before Maya Yoshida added a fourth and goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima saved a late penalty to send Japan provisionally top of the qualifying Group B table.
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