Substitute Hotaru Yamaguchi volleyed in an injury-time winner to jolt Japan's bid to reach a sixth straight World Cup into life with a 2-1 victory over Iraq on Thursday.
Japan went into the game at Saitama Stadium having started the final round of Asian qualifiers for Russia 2018 with one defeat and one win, but the home side looked to be heading toward a disappointing draw when Iraq's Saad Abdul-Amir canceled out Genki Haraguchi's first-half goal with an equalizer in the 60th minute.
But Yamaguchi pulled the iron out of the fire when he fired home a loose ball from a corner in the 95th minute, giving Japan its first home win of the campaign in the most dramatic of circumstances.