Ao Tanaka overcomes psychological hostility and disruption as Leeds United man impresses in latest Japan win
Leeds United midfielder Ao Tanaka completed 90 minutes for Japan on Tuesday as the Samurai Blue ran out 3-1 winners over China in FIFA World Cup qualifying.
Japan moved onto 16 points from six matches as they edge ever closer to booking their place at the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Playing their first fixture in China for nine years, Japan received a hostile welcome as they faced China at the Xiamen Egret Stadium. The Japanese national anthem was booed as Tanaka and his international teammates lined up on the pitch, while laser pointers were also allegedly directed at Japan players once the game had kicked off, per Football Zone.
Nevertheless, Japan went in two-nil up at the break and added a third shortly after China had reduced the arrears three minutes into the second half. The first half in Xiamen was not without incident, however, as a pitch invader is reported to have caused a brief stoppage to the match.
Tanaka and co saw out the 3-1 scoreline, though, to make it ten consecutive matches without defeat on the competitive international stage.
While the two countries share a strong economic partnership, geopolitical relations have long been strained, dating back to the World Wars of the 20th century, borne out of wartime activity as well as disputes over the jurisdiction of land situated in the East China Sea. As a result, the two countries' national football teams have become rivals with fixtures occasionally played outside China in order to ease tensions.
For Tuesday's match, around 750 Japanese supporters were allowed to attend the World Cup qualifier in Xiamen, according to Football Zone.
Tanaka will now travel back to the United Kingdom from China and join up with the rest of Daniel Farke's Leeds squad ahead of the team's trip to Swansea City on Sunday.