Australia defender Aziz Behich scored an own goal in 85th minute Tuesday to give Japan a 2-1 victory and six points from four matches in Group B, three points behind the Aussies and six behind Saudi Arabia.
Australia edged Vietnam 1-0 in Hanoi while Japan defeated China by a solitary goal in Doha; Kwon Chang-hoon's 2nd half goal sealed the win for South Korea against Lebanon.
Japan, Asia’s highest-ranked team at No. 24 in the world, lost 1-0 at home to 79th-ranked Oman last Thursday to end a streak of eight consecutive wins in World Cup qualifying games.
Japanese football player Kumi Yokoyama said they are transgender -- an identity not legally recognised in Japan.
Belgium topped Group D with a 100 per cent winning record following wins over Panama, Tunisia and England.
Belgium averaged three goals per game, and looked flashy even when playing mostly reserves against England in winning the last group game.
Both Japan and Senegal finished the group phase with four points, same goal difference and the same amount of goals, but the former advanced due to fair play, where they had two less yellow cards than the African nation.
In their final group games on Thursday, Senegal will face Colombia in Samara while Japan play Poland in Volgograd.
Japan became the latest side to pull off an upset at the World Cup, joining Mexico, Switzerland and Iceland in earning surprising results.
Colombia were at their best in Brazil four years ago, reaching the quarter-finals, their best result ever.
Poland, Senegal, Colombia and Japan are part of Group H of the World Cup.
In two World Cup warm-up matches, Japan will face Switzerland on June 8 in Lugano, Switzerland, and Paraguay on June 12 in Innsbruck, Austria.
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