Socceroos coach Tony Popovic has put aside the disappointment of just falling short of a breakthrough away win over Japan to proudly claim the crucial World Cup qualifying point secured in a gutsy 1-1 draw in Saitama.
Australia were on track to claim their first win over the Samurai Blue in Japan after a horror own goal by Shogo Tanaguchi in the 58th minute delivered the most unlikely of leads in front of 58,730 fans at Saitama Stadium.
Tanaguchi inexplicably tried to clear a Lewis Miller cross with the outside of his right boot instead of using his left, and sliced the ball past goalkeeper Zion Suzuki.
But 18 minutes later, Burgess knocked a Keito Nakamura squaring ball into his own net, with the Socceroos having to desperately defend to hold on for their first point in Japan since 2013.
The Socceroos also had to deal with their team bus arriving at the ground only 45 minutes before kick-off on Tuesday night after being caught in traffic due to an accident.
Australia have five points from their first four games and sit second in group C behind Japan (10 points), pending other results – with the top two teams qualifying directly for the 2026 World Cup.
Japan had scored 14 goals without conceding in their previous three games – but struggled to crack open a brilliant defence led by a star turn from Jason Geria.
“Firstly, the result, of course, is a good result for us,” Popovic said after his second game at the helm.
“In the current situation, coming to Japan, it’s their first goal that they conceded. So an excellent team that’s been together for a very long time. And for us, we’ve had four training sessions together.
“There has been a lot of change, but not using that as an excuse, we’re happy with the point.
“Obviously, we came here to win, and we had an opportunity by leading 1-0, but we have something to build on.
“Our aspirations are to challenge Japan at a better level than what we played today, and that’s the goal for us. So result-wise, good.”
The result further magnifies the importance of Australia’s huge home clash with Saudi Arabia at Melbourne’s AAMI Park on November 14 – which talisman Craig Goodwin will be suspended for after a late booking.
The Asian Football Confederation knocked back requests from both Football Australia and the Japanese Football Association to delay kick-off after the Socceroos’ late arrival.
“We had a lot of difficulties arriving here. We were told it would take 90 minutes, maximum. It took us two hours 15, so not ideal preparation,” Popovic said.
“But we didn’t use that as an excuse. The players and staff were fantastic.
“We had a very short warm-up. Players had 10 minutes to get ready, and we just dealt with the situation, and they showed a fantastic performance.
Popovic turned to 34-year-old debutant Luke Brattan to replace Aiden O’Neill (illness) in midfield, while Goodwin was benched among six changes.
Brattan – the oldest Socceroos debutant since 1963 – struggled and was hooked for Patrick Yazbek at half-time
In the 57th minute, Kubo brilliantly picked out Takumi Minamino at the back post but the attacker headed wide.
A minute later, Tanaguchi gave away his own goal to hand Australia a welcome lead, but their delight was relatively short-lived.
After Burgess’ own goal, Japan sent in wave after wave of attacks but Harry Souttar and Gauci stood tall late to save the point.
