Ji and Usami in draws on international duty

Both FCA midfielders Dong-Won Ji (South Korea) and Takashi Usami (Japan) played out stalemates with their respective nations on Wednesday. Both South Korea and Japan took part in friendlies as they prepare for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers. South Korean Dong-Won Ji played 63 minutes of his side’s friendly against Iraq until the team’s German head coach Uli Stielike brought him off. The match at the Emirates Club Stadium in the UAE ended goalless. South Korea are currently second in group A with 13 points. They travel to Qatar on Tuesday, 13^th June where they face the groups’ bottom side. Takash Usami did not feature in Japan’s 1-1 draw with Syria. Yasuyuki Konno equalised for the home side in the 58^th minute to cancel out Syria’s lead. It was not the result the Japanese were hoping for as they brace themselves for their next World Cup qualifier. Japan are joint-first in Group B with Saudi Arabia, picking up a total of 16 points so far. Iraq find themselves in second to last place of their group with just four points on the board. The top two in Group A and B qualify directly for the World Cup in 2018 in Russia. Those in third place must fight it out in a two-legged play-off. That means both Japan and South Korea are still in a good position to secure their place at next summer’s tournament.