National team manager Vahid Halilhodzic believes Japan owes Singapore a debt of gratitude for providing the wake-up call that fueled Thursday's World Cup qualifying win over Cambodia.
Japan beat Cambodia 3-0 at Saitama Stadium to pick up its first victory on the road to Russia 2018, 2½ months after opening its campaign with a shock 0-0 draw at home to Singapore, then ranked 154th in the world.
Japan dominated Cambodia — ranked even lower than Singapore at 180 — but had to wait until the 28th minute before Keisuke Honda broke the deadlock and Maya Yoshida and Shinji Kagawa went on to add second-half goals.