Japan kept their pristine record intact on Thursday by defeating Saudi Arabia 2-0 in Jeddah during the third round of World Cup qualification.

Asia’s best side seized the lead in the 14th minute at King Abdullah Sports City, in front of around 56,000 spectators. Crystal Palace midfielder Daichi Kamada scored from close range following excellent work from Brighton & Hove Albion’s Kaoru Mitoma.

With eight minutes remaining, Japanese replacement Koki Ogawa headed in Junya Ito’s corner to seal the win.

Japan, who have made it to the World Cup finals seven times previously, now leads Group C after three games with nine points.

They will host Australia in Saitama on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia, captained by the under-fire Roberto Mancini, comes in third.

Tony Popovic’s position as coach was assured when the Socceroos overturned a 1-0 deficit yesterday to surprise China and save their qualification campaign.

The host team, trailing Xie Wenneng’s goal in the 20th minute, rallied with goals from Lewis Miller, Craig Goodwin, and debutant Nishan Velupillay.

Based on goal differential, Australia rose to third position in the group as Indonesia kept the 2019 Gulf Cup winners in a 2-2 draw at home.

In the six-team group, the top two teams go straight to the 2026 World Cup, while the third and fourth-placed teams have to go through an extra qualifying round.

South Korea won 2-0 in Amman to maintain their flawless record heading into the third round in Group B, despite the absence of captain and superstar Son Heung-min.

Son got hurt last week while playing for Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League, therefore he did not travel to Jordan with his national team.

But South Korea prevailed thanks to goals from Mainz midfielder Lee Jae-sung and Genk forward Oh Hyeon-gyu, so his absence was not too noticeable.

With the win, South Korea moved up to seven points out of nine in the group, giving coach Hong Myung-bo much-needed relief.

South Korea tops the pool on goal differential, one goal better than current Gulf champions Iraq, who defeated Palestine 1-0 in Basra.

After scoring the only goal of the match, Aymen Hussein went into the top five in Iraq’s all-time scoring lists with 29 goals overall.

Meanwhile, Oman stunned Kuwait 4-0 in Muscat to open the group on a high note. Kuwait is a rival in the Gulf.

After holding the much-anticipated Iran to a scoreless draw in Tashkent, Uzbekistan leads the Group A standings, followed by Amir Ghalenoei’s team.

The United Arab Emirates are now in third position after being held to a 1-1 draw at home in Al Ain by North Korea.

With their first victory of the third round, Asian champions Qatar defeated Kyrgyzstan 3-1 in Doha to finish first in their group.

Tintin Marquez’s team is now tied for fourth place with the UAE with four points after three backs from Iran and Uzbekistan.