Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan - 6/10/16. Japan's Hotaru Yamaguchi and teammates celebrate after scoring the second goal for Japan against Iraq. REUTERS/Issei Kato
SEOUL, South Korea: Hotaru Yamaguchi scored in the fifth minute of injury time Thursday to give Japan a 2-1 win over Iraq in World Cup qualifying.
Genki Haraguchi had put Japan ahead in the first half at Saitama Stadium, but Saad Adbulameer equalized in the 60th.
It was Japan's second straight win, giving the team six points from three matches. Iraq has now lost all three of its Group B matches.
The top two teams in Groups A and B will qualify automatically for the World Cup, with the two third-place teams going to a fourth-round match to decide which of them makes the intercontinental playoffs.
