Tuesday 26 March 2013 16:56, UK
Shinja Kagawa scored for Japan but they failed to cement their place at the World Cup finals on Tuesday after losing to Jordan, while Australia also slipped up against Oman.
South Korea were quickly replaced in top spot in their group, though, as Uzbekistan beat Lebanon 1-0 to replace them. Server Djeparov scored the only goal of the game with 64 minutes gone and they now head the table by a point, albeit having played a game more. Japan could have booked their place in Brazil had they got a positive result in Jordan, but a 2-1 loss leaves the door slightly ajar for the rest. A win would have been good enough to see them safe but they went 2-0 down thanks to goals from Khalil Bani Attiah and Ahmed Hayel. Japan pulled a goal back through Manchester United's Shinji Kagawa but it was not enough, leaving them on 13 points, six ahead of second-placed Jordan. Australia, with three games left, are third on six.
