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Kamada hits double as Japan thrash Indonesia 6-0

Kamada hits double as Japan thrash Indonesia 6-0

Observer10-06-2025
OSAKA, Japan: Crystal Palace forward Daichi Kamada scored twice as Japan rounded off their successful World Cup qualifying campaign with a 6-0 thrashing of Patrick Kluivert's Indonesia in Osaka on Tuesday.
Kamada, an FA Cup winner with Palace in England this season, struck twice in the first half as already qualified Japan finished the campaign as Group C winners, scoring 30 goals in their 10 matches.
Takefusa Kubo, Ryoya Morishita, Shuto Machino and substitute Mao Hosoya were also on target against Indonesia, who finished fourth in the group.
Kluivert's side, who were backed by a large travelling support in Japan, advance to a further round with five other teams to decide two more Asian qualifiers for next year's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Japan lost their unbeaten qualifying record in a 1-0 defeat away to Australia last week, with coach Hajime Moriyasu fielding an experimental line-up with qualification already in the bag.
Indonesia's Mees Hilgers (L) tries to defend as Japan's forward Shuto Machino scores his team's fifth goal. — AFP
He started with two more debutants against Indonesia, handing first caps to defender Junnosuke Suzuki and winger Shunsuke Mito.
Kamada opened the scoring in the 15th minute, heading home from a Mito cross.
The Palace forward turned provider for his team's second, combining with Kubo before the Real Sociedad man fired past Indonesia goalkeeper Emil Audero.
Indonesia lost defender Kevin Diks to injury midway through the first half and his replacement Yakob Sayuri lasted only 15 minutes before he also had to go off after a clash of heads.
Kamada scored Japan's third on the stroke of half-time, waltzing through the Indonesia defence before tucking the ball over Audero.
Morishita volleyed home at the back post in the 55th minute for his first international goal.
Machino and Hosoya also got on the scoresheet as Japan continued to squeeze Indonesia until the final whistle. — AFP
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