Australia 1–0 Japan Player Ratings: A Late Minute Goal by Behick Gave the Socceroos the Crucial Three Points

Australia locked horns with the Japanese National Football Team on 5th June, 2025 in a World Cup Qualifiers match. It is a match between the number 1 and the number 2 teams in the standings. A last-minute goal from Behick separated the two teams.

Read on to see Australia vs Japan player ratings.

While the Socceroos wanted to press early and press harder to get an early lead, Japan drained out the pace of the game to have more control. They wanted to give the debutants the best start as the stars of the Japanese team were on the bench today to give the future stars some much-needed game time.

It worked magically as Japan had more possession in the early minutes and were moving the ball with intent. It was clear that the Samurai Blue were in control of the match.

However, by the 15th-minute mark, the Socceroos started to change the tempo of the game as we saw some promising build-ups from their side as well. However, by the 25th minute, it was all Japan again as they started to attack from both flanks, making quality deliveries. It seemed as if the Samurai Blue were just minutes away from scoring.

At the 28th minute, Suzuki almost created a chance for himself as he was dribbling with the ball towards the goal. He had the right posture, right intent, and right position, but the shot was not it.

Hirekawa nearly made it 0-1 in the 36th minute, but his long-range effort just went wide. A quick switch of feet opened up an opportunity for Kamada at the 43rd minute, but his shot went wide. The Socceroos vs Japan game was a brilliant end-to-end action packed game.

After the first-half whistle, the score stood 0-0. Both teams made substitutions at the beginning of the second half. Both teams started pushing for the first goal as we were seeing end-to-end attacks from both sides. Japan made a double substitution in the 63rd minute to put more weight on their attack. A quick one-two from Suzuki and Kubo opened up the Australian defense, but the ball was just too much to see the finish.

In the 68th minute, Australia made a double substitution as well. At the 81st minute, Takefusa Kubo almost made it 0-1, but the shot from his weak foot went wide. A 92nd-minute drama struck as Behick made it 1-0 from a cut-back in the box. After the full-time whistle, it was Australia 1-0 Japan. Here are the Socceroos vs Japan National Football team player ratings.

Australia National Football Team Player Ratings vs Japan

GK- Mathew Ryan- 5.5/10

Mathew had to make a few dives here and there to deny the Samurai Blue a lead in the first half. He was the busier goalkeeper between the two in the first half.

CB- Cameron Burgess- 5.5/10

Throughout the first half, Burgess won all his ground and aerial duels. Talk about impact! He maintained a 74% passing accuracy but gave away the ball five times.

CB- Milos Degenek- 6/10

By the end of the first half, Milos Degenek made 2 clearances and blocked 1 important shot for his team. Like Burgess, he won all his ground and aerial duels.

CB- Alessandro Circati- 5/10

With how the match was turning since the kick-off whistle, Australia needed to hold their ground, and Circati was the first one to put the 2nd gear. He had a solid physical presence in the game.

LM- Aziz Behich- 5.5/10

By the first half whistle, he was maintaining a 67% passing accuracy and made 3 stunning long balls. However, only 1 of those was not intercepted. He won 2 out of his 4 ground duels. He scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute.

CM- Ryan Teague- 6/10

Maintained 80% passing accuracy. Ryan Teague was the best person in the Australian midfield today. He won all his ground duels but lost the ball 4 times.

CM- Aiden O'Neill- 5/10

After the first half whistle, Aiden O'Neill maintained 73% passing accuracy. He won 3 out of his ground duels and won all his aerial clashes.

RM- Lewis Miller- 5/10

Not much came from the right flank, and it is mainly because Lewis Miller did not see much of the ball in the first half. Still, he maintained 70% passing accuracy after 45 minutes and won 4 out of 7 ground duels.

CAM- Connor Metcalfe- 5/10

Connor Metcalfe had multiple attempts at the goal in the first half. However, both of his shots were off-target. He maintained 55% passing accuracy in the first half.

CAM- Martin Boyle- 5.5/10

Throughout the first half, Martin Boyle had 1 out of 2 successful dribble attempts. He won 2 out of 3 duels and won 1 out of 3 duels.

ST- Brandon Borrello- 5/10

Brandon Borrello maintained a 71% passing accuracy throughout the first half. He made a key pass that almost created an opportunity for the Socceroos, but there was no conversion.

Sub- Riley McGree- 4/10

Riley McGree came onto the match at the start of the second half. The manager wanted a quick change in the score in Australia's favor.

Sub- Patrick Yazbek- 4/10

Tony wanted to make a quick change in the midfield as well, so he introduced Patric Yazbek along with Riley McGree, who came in the 45th minute.

Sub- Jason Geria- 4/10

Jason Geria came onto the match after Japan made the double substitution. Tony wanted to deal with the attack by Japan right away.

Sub- Mitchell Duke- 4/10

Mitchell Duke came on for Jason Geria in the 68th minute to try and change the course of the game.

Sub- Daniel Arzani- 4/10

Daniel Arzani came onto the match in the 80th minute. C. Metcalfe was subbed out because of him. It was his last substitution.

Manager- Tony Popovic- 6/10

Tony Popovic was the happier manager between the two. He made all the right substitutions, and he finally got his reward in the 92nd minute.

Japan National Football Team Player Ratings vs Australia

GK- Kosei Tani- 5/10

With Japan spending most of the time in the first half attacking, Kosei Tani was barely tested in the first half. Moreover, his defenders' interceptions were at point and denied the Socceroos any chance in the early minutes.

CB- Hiroki Sekine- 6.5/10

Hiroki Sekine spent the majority of the first half forward, given that he was allowed by the manager, Hajime, who was eager to have the first-goal advantage.

CB- Tsuyoshi Watanabe- 6/10

Tsuyoshi Watanabe was the spine of the defense for the Samurai Blue today. He held the defense line while allowing his center-back partners to be high on the pitch.

CB- Koki Machida- 6/10

At the 16th minute of the game, Koki Machida picked up an injury, which concerned the team given the veteran's experience. But he recovered right away and carried on as if nothing had happened.

LM- Kota Tawaratsumida- 5.5/10

Kept changing his position with Daichi Kamada and gave the Australian midfield all sorts of troubles with the dynamic. Kota had done very well in the match with his duties.

CM- Kaishu Sano- 6/10

It was just another day for Kaishu Sano, who looked sharp going forward and intercepting any Australian build-ups that were potentially dangerous.

CM- Joel Chima Fujita-5/10

Like the rest of the midfielders, Joel Chima Fujita had the green light to go forward, and he made the most of it with his short and quick passes that allowed Japan to create short spaces.

RM- Yu Hirakawa- 6/10

Yu Hirakawa seemed to be the most active player for the Samurai Blue today. He was the key player on every attack that came through the right flank. From one-touch passing to quality deliveries in the box, he was instrumental for Japan today.

CAM- Daichi Kamada- 6.5/10

The veteran in the team played like a true leader. From being the connection between the midfielders and forward to exploiting the pocket spaces left behind by Australia, Daichi was instrumental in dominating the play for the team today.

CAM- Yuito Suzuki- 5.5/10

Clever one-twos to get past the Australian defense line were the highlight for Yuito Suzuki today. He looked promising on the flanks today. However, in the first 20 minutes, there were no end products to his runs.

ST- Yuki Ohashi- 6.5/10

Yuki had a great start to the game. His presence alone made the Australian defenders nervous. In addition to that, the number 9's quick turns with the ball in front of the defense line seemed to be too much for the Australian defense.

Sub- Ayumu Seko- 4/10

Ayumu Seko came onto the match in the second half. Machida was replaced with a substitute.

Sub- Takefusa Kubo- 5/10

Japan called their star, Takefusa Kubo, for the team to find inspiration and get the lead right away.

Sub- Keito Nakamura- 4/10

Keito Nakamura came on the match in the 63rd minute along with Kubo. Both were introduced to make the team more dangerous.

Sub- Shuto Machino- 4/10

Shuto Machino came onto the match in the 70th-minute mark. He came with Kota Takai.

Sub- Kota Takai- 4/10

Kota Takai came on the match in the 70th minute. It was Japan's last substitution.

Manager- Hajime Moriyasu- 4.5/10

Even though it did not matter much, Hajime Moriyasu could not easily digest the last-minute goal that handed him the loss. He was still happy with his team's performance.

Sportsdunia Man of the Match is Aziz Behich.