SAITAMA — Shunsuke Nakamura hauled Japan to within touching distance of a fourth successive World Cup with a trademark free kick to give his side a 1-0 win over Bahrain on Saturday.
Nakamura's 47th-minute goal brought Japan to life after a flat first half in front of 57,276 at Saitama Stadium, and sent Takeshi Okada's team to the top of the Group A standings on 11 points with previous leader Australia not in action.
The top two teams qualify automatically for South Africa, and Japan has now opened up a gap of seven points between Bahrain, which began the match tied for third with Qatar.