Japan struggled past Asian Games champions Qatar 1-0 in an Olympic qualifier at home Wednesday, surging to the top of the Asian zone Group C with two wins and one draw.
FC Tokyo midfielder Yohei Kajiyama headed home a free kick from Koki Mizuno in the sixth minute and the score remained unchanged, even after Japan came down to 10 men when Takuya Honda was sent off in the 68th minute.
Japan will play Qatar away on October 17 with a three-point advantage. Vietnam and Saudi Arabia, each with one loss and one draw, were fighting in another Group C match on the same day.
"After we lost one man, we had to count on our fighting spirit to go on," said Japan coach Yasuharu Sorimachi. "We are only halfway through with three more games to play, two of them away. We need to build ourselves up as one club team with good preparations."
Qatari midfielder Waleed Jassim Abdulla squandered two free kicks in the 23rd and 30th minutes. The first one bounced off a wall and the second went straight into the hands of Japanese goalkeeper Kaito Yamamoto. In the 34th minute, Yasuhito Morishima attempted a header which was deflected by Qatar goalkeeper Rajab Hamza Qassim. After the break, Qatar blew another big chance when forward Ali Hassan A Yahya shot wide off the left post in a goalmouth scramble from a cross in the 62nd minute.