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Miretti Scores Landmark Double as Genoa Beats Lecce

Genoa's Fabio Miretti celebrates after scoring a goal for his team during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Lecce at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)
Genoa's Fabio Miretti celebrates after scoring a goal for his team during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Lecce at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)
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Miretti Scores Landmark Double as Genoa Beats Lecce

Genoa's Fabio Miretti celebrates after scoring a goal for his team during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Lecce at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)
Genoa's Fabio Miretti celebrates after scoring a goal for his team during the Serie A soccer match between Genoa and Lecce at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium in Genoa, Italy, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Tano Pecoraro/LaPresse via AP)

A first-half double from Fabio Miretti, his first brace as a professional, gave Genoa a 2-1 win over Lecce in Serie A on Friday.
The midfielder scored two exceptional goals to lift 12th-placed Genoa to equal on points with Torino, which has a game in hand, The Associated Press reported.
The first was a volley taken over his shoulder and from a tight angle after 16 minutes. The second, in first half stoppage time, came when he took an excellent pass from Rusian Malinovskyi and spun inside the box before firing home.
Nikola Krstović pulled a goal back from the spot for Lecce midway through the second half but Lecce remained 16th, just two points ahead of the relegation zone.
The southern club is winless since the last day of January, a run dating back six games.

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Japan Set to Seal World Cup Spot as Son Aims to Forget Spurs Woes 

Football - Premier League - Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - March 16, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - March 16, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)
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Japan Set to Seal World Cup Spot as Son Aims to Forget Spurs Woes 

Football - Premier League - Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - March 16, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Fulham v Tottenham Hotspur - Craven Cottage, London, Britain - March 16, 2025 Tottenham Hotspur's Son Heung-min looks dejected after the match. (Reuters)

Japan can become the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup this week while Son Heung-min will try to forget his Tottenham woes by firing South Korea to the finals.

Asian nations play two rounds of games, on Thursday and Tuesday, as qualifying for the enlarged 48-team tournament in North America approaches the business end in the region.

Japan will seal their spot with three qualifying matches to go if, as expected, they beat Bahrain at home in Saitama on Thursday.

Even if they stumble, it looks only a matter of time until they secure a place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as they have another home match against Saudi Arabia next week.

Hajime Moriyasu's side are nine points clear of Australia at the top of Group C, having won five and drawn one of their six games in this phase of qualifying, scoring 22 goals and conceding twice.

Moriyasu named a full-strength squad led by Liverpool's Wataru Endo and Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma, but said there were plenty of other players who deserved call-ups.

"There are a lot of players who are showing what they can do in the J. League and in Europe and wouldn't look out of place in this squad," he said.

There are three groups in the third Asian qualifying round for 2026, with the top two in each going straight to the World Cup.

Japan are sitting pretty on 16 points with four matches to play but the five-way battle to qualify second from the group could go to the wire.

Australia have seven points, while Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and China all have six.

- Indonesia go Dutch -

The Socceroos, who are without several players through injury, on Thursday host an Indonesia side in Sydney led for the first time by Barcelona and Dutch great Patrick Kluivert.

Indonesia have leaned heavily on the Netherlands as they look to reach the World Cup for the first time since the Asian nation gained independence from the Dutch in 1945.

Indonesia have recruited a dozen players born in the Netherlands and in January added Kluivert as coach, with Jordi Cruyff also coming in as technical adviser.

South Korea are well on their way and will seal their spot at the 2026 World Cup with home wins over Oman and Jordan.

The 32-year-old forward Son has struggled for fitness and form in the Premier League this season, scoring seven times for Spurs, with the London club languishing in the bottom half of the table.

But the skipper continues to be South Korea's talisman, with 51 goals in 131 appearances.

"There are many discussions regarding his recent form, including his goal tally," said coach Hong Myung-bo.

"However, we must not forget everything he has accomplished so far."

South Korea have been dealt a blow with the loss of Bayern Munich center-back Kim Min-jae to an Achilles tendon injury.

South Korea top Group B with 14 points with Iraq, who are likely to clinch second place, on 11. Jordan are third on nine points.

Iraq next face Kuwait and Palestine, the bottom two in the group.

Iran lead the way in Group A with 16 points from six games, ahead of Uzbekistan on 13 and the United Arab Emirates on 10.

Qatar, who won the Asian Cup on home soil 13 months ago, are fourth on seven points.

Even if they finish outside the top two, their World Cup hopes will not be over.

The teams that finish third and fourth in the three groups go through to a further round of qualifying.