SAITAMA (Kyodo) -- While reminiscent of a group-stage defeat at the last World Cup, a 1-1 home draw against Australia in 2026 qualifying provided a fair reflection of Japan's progress since.

After making a perfect start with three straight wins and clean sheets in their Asia final-round qualifying for the next World Cup, the Samurai Blue were the favorites against the Socceroos, whose setup suggested they knew their task ahead, especially in just their second game under a new manager.

After firing on all cylinders until Tuesday's game, Japan struggled to unlock the visitors' block of five defenders and four midfielders who filled the spaces in their defensive third, especially in the middle.

"We couldn't break them down as much as we were planning to," attacker Takefusa Kubo said. "We couldn't get a proper shot away and felt we were being forced to put in crosses. They gave us the space down the touchline, but it could have been a show of their confidence that they could keep us out."

Ritsu Doan alluded to a short "slack spell" from Japan that preceded the unexpected own-goal opener just before the hour mark for Australia, who had one shot in the game, and at that stage was a familiar tale of when Hajime Moriyasu's side went down 1-0 to Costa Rica in Qatar two years ago.

In between their famous 2-1 group-stage comeback wins over Germany and Spain, Japan fell to what could have been a fatal loss against the Central Americans, who put bodies behind, like Australia, before dealing a late sucker punch with their only shot on target.

In that game, Kaoru Mitoma provided a spark off the bench without Japan finding an equalizer. But with the winger now starting regularly, it was his national team understudy, Keito Nakamura, who came on to force the own goal against Australia in a testament to the growing depth of Moriyasu's squad.

"The bottom line is I'm up against a player (Mitoma) who is at a significantly higher level, so I understand my playing time is short," Nakamura said. "I thought the only way forward was to produce numbers when I get the chance, with a goal or a play that leads to it."

Like Japan's other attacking talents in Europe's top leagues, the Reims winger is feeding off a tough environment in the French Ligue 1, where he has scored in the last four games.

"Playing in the French league, where the opponents are almost all better than me physically, and individual skill levels are high, has helped me in sending crosses while running at top speed on counters," Nakamura said. "It's rare that I get to go inside that much by the byline (in France)."

Japan's defensive players claimed they had talked about staying calm in case they conceded, while Moriyasu was able to call upon more attacking talents to thwart the other team from running away with points, both indicators of Japan's progress since the Costa Rica loss.

While the draw was not the best outcome against Australia, who had never been so cautious against Japan since their rivalry began at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, it should push Moriyasu and his players to take their game to a new level.

(By Morichika Nakamoto)