Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu was left frustrated after his team¡¯s winning run in World Cup qualifying was ended by a 1-1 draw with Australia on Tuesday, but he believes the result will serve as a reminder to his players of the challenges that lie ahead.

Japan had won all nine of their preliminaries for the 2026 tournament without conceding a goal until Shogo Taniguchi sliced the ball into his own net at Saitama Stadium to give Australia the lead.

Moriyasu¡¯s side salvaged a point from a game it dominated when Australia¡¯s Cameron Burgess steered Keito Nakamura¡¯s low cross past his own goalkeeper with 14 minutes left to ensure Japan remains on track for an eighth straight World Cup appearance.

¡°I feel frustrated,¡± said Moriyasu, who led Japan to the knockout rounds of the 2022 World Cup. ¡°We wanted to earn the three points and make our fans happy.

¡°So far we had come to this point without giving away a goal and tonight we gave away a goal, an own goal.

¡°We could have fallen apart after that point but our players held on and kept calm to level up their play in order to catch up with Australia.

¡°They accepted the reality and carried on. The result is a disappointing one but I can evaluate the process our players followed during the game.¡±

Japan leads Group C on 10 points after four games, with Australia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain all on five as the teams battle for the group¡¯s two automatic berths at the World Cup in North America.

Next up for Samurai Blue is a trip to Jakarta on Nov. 15 to face Indonesia, who had drawn their opening three matches before losing 2-1 to China on Tuesday.

¡°We learned that it is difficult to keep winning in the final qualifying,¡± said Moriyasu.

¡°Having played Australia today, we realized again that it is not easy at all to win in these final qualifiers.

¡°We will make sure prepare well and take it a match at a time.¡±