Only own-goals as Japan and Australia draw 1-1 in Asian World Cup qualifying

SAITAMA, Japan (AP) — Two own-goals saw the points shared Tuesday as Japan and Australia drew 1-1 in Asian World Cup qualifying.

Shogo Taniguchi accidentally put Australia ahead just before the hour at Saitama Stadium, but Australia's Cameron Burgess returned the favor soon after to leave Japan top of Group C with 10 points from four games, five clear of the Socceroos in second.

Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, third and fourth, meet later Tuesday.

“I’m very proud of that performance – the calmness and composure that we showed in defense,” said Australia midfielder Jackson Irvine. “It’s a top foundation for us to move forward.”

Japan, which has appeared at every World Cup since 1998, attacked from the beginning but struggled to create clear chances despite the majority of possession. Takefusa Kubo had the best chance, shooting into the side of the net from close range while Brighton winger Kaoru Mitoma had a shot deflected wide.

It was more of the same in the second half but, just after former Liverpool attacker Takumi Minamino headed wide, Australia stunned the hosts by taking the lead after 58 minutes with a goal that came out of nothing.

Lewis Miller crossed into the area from the right and Taniguchi tried to clear but only succeeded in diverting the ball past the diving Zion Suzuki and into the net to the delight of the small number of visiting fans.

It was the first time that Japan had conceded in 10 qualifiers in the second and third rounds but the team got the equalizer thanks to another own-goal after 76 minutes. Keito Nakamura dribbled down the left and his low cross hit Burgess and went into the net from close range.

Japan pressed in an attempt to get the winning goal and maintain its perfect record in qualification but had to settle for the point.

Australia stayed in second on five points above Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, who drew 0-0 in Jeddah.

China picked up its first points with a 2-1 win over Indonesia in Qingdao but stayed bottom of the group on goal difference. First-half goals from Abduweli Behram and Zhang Yuning put the host in control but a late goal from Indonesia's Thom Haye ensured a nervy finish.

The top two from each of the three six-team groups in the third round qualify automatically for the World Cup while the third and fourth-place teams will advance to the next stage to compete for two more spots.

There was another top-two meeting in Group B as South Korea beat Iraq 3-2 in Yongin to move three points clear.

Oh Se-hun gave the hosts the lead four minutes before the break only for Aymen Hussein to level for Iraq six minutes after with a spectacular bicycle kick. Oh Hyeong-gyu and Lee Jae-sung both struck late to secure the win and leave South Korea on course for an 11th successive World Cup appearance.

South Korea has 10 points, three ahead of Iraq and Jordan, which defeated Oman 4-0. The Palestinian team stays bottom after a 2-2 draw with Kuwait.

In Group A, Iran defeated Qatar 4-1 to move top on goal difference above Uzbekistan, which edged United Arab Emirates 1-0. Kyrgyzstan beat North Korea by the same scoreline to pick up its first points and move into fifth.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Japan's Kaoru Mitoma and Australia's Cameron Burgess, center, in the air, compete for the ball during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and Japan at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan's Kaoru Mitoma, left, and Australia's Cameron Burgess compete for the ball during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and Japan at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Australia's goalkeeper Joe Gauci, right, extends his hand as Australia's and Japan's players greet each other after the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and Japan ended in a draw at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Australia's Aziz Behich, right, and Japan's Koki Ogawa compete for the ball during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and Japan at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

South Korea's Oh Se-hun, second rom right, celebrates with his teammates after scoring a goal against Iraq during the Asian qualifier group B match for 2026 World Cup between South Korea and Iraq at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea's Lee Kang-in, left, fights for the ball with Iraq's Ahmed Yahya Al-Hajjaj during the Asian qualifier group B match for 2026 World Cup between South Korea and Iraq at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

South Korea's Oh Se-hun reacts after scoring a goal against Iraq during the Asian qualifier group B match for 2026 World Cup between South Korea and Iraq at Yongin Mireu Stadium in Yongin, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Japan's Koki Machida, left, and Australia's Craig Goodwin compete for the ball during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and Japan at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan's Ayase Ueda, left, and Australia's Patrick Yazbek compete for the ball during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and Japan at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japan's Koki Machida, left, and Australia's Craig Goodwin compete for the ball during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and Japan at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Australia's goalkeeper Joe Gauci jumps up in the air to make a save during the World Cup 2026 Group C qualifying soccer match between Australia and Japan at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

NEW YORK (AP) — Reviving a campaign pledge, President Donald Trump wants a one-year, 10% cap on credit card interest rates, a move that could save Americans tens of billions of dollars but drew immediate opposition from an industry that has been in his corner.

Trump was not clear in his social media post Friday night whether a cap might take effect through executive action or legislation, though one Republican senator said he had spoken with the president and would work on a bill with his “full support.” Trump said he hoped it would be in place Jan. 20, one year after he took office.

Strong opposition is certain from Wall Street in addition to the credit card companies, which donated heavily to his 2024 campaign and have supported Trump's second-term agenda. Banks are making the argument that such a plan would most hurt poor people, at a time of economic concern, by curtailing or eliminating credit lines, driving them to high-cost alternatives like payday loans or pawnshops.

“We will no longer let the American Public be ripped off by Credit Card Companies that are charging Interest Rates of 20 to 30%,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Researchers who studied Trump’s campaign pledge after it was first announced found that Americans would save roughly $100 billion in interest a year if credit card rates were capped at 10%. The same researchers found that while the credit card industry would take a major hit, it would still be profitable, although credit card rewards and other perks might be scaled back.

About 195 million people in the United States had credit cards in 2024 and were assessed $160 billion in interest charges, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says. Americans are now carrying more credit card debt than ever, to the tune of about $1.23 trillion, according to figures from the New York Federal Reserve for the third quarter last year.

Further, Americans are paying, on average, between 19.65% and 21.5% in interest on credit cards according to the Federal Reserve and other industry tracking sources. That has come down in the past year as the central bank lowered benchmark rates, but is near the highs since federal regulators started tracking credit card rates in the mid-1990s. That’s significantly higher than a decade ago, when the average credit card interest rate was roughly 12%.

The Republican administration has proved particularly friendly until now to the credit card industry.

Capital One got little resistance from the White House when it finalized its purchase and merger with Discover Financial in early 2025, a deal that created the nation’s largest credit card company. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which is largely tasked with going after credit card companies for alleged wrongdoing, has been largely nonfunctional since Trump took office.

In a joint statement, the banking industry was opposed to Trump's proposal.

“If enacted, this cap would only drive consumers toward less regulated, more costly alternatives," the American Bankers Association and allied groups said.

Bank lobbyists have long argued that lowering interest rates on their credit card products would require the banks to lend less to high-risk borrowers. When Congress enacted a cap on the fee that stores pay large banks when customers use a debit card, banks responded by removing all rewards and perks from those cards. Debit card rewards only recently have trickled back into consumers' hands. For example, United Airlines now has a debit card that gives miles with purchases.

The U.S. already places interest rate caps on some financial products and for some demographics. The Military Lending Act makes it illegal to charge active-duty service members more than 36% for any financial product. The national regulator for credit unions has capped interest rates on credit union credit cards at 18%.

Credit card companies earn three streams of revenue from their products: fees charged to merchants, fees charged to customers and the interest charged on balances. The argument from some researchers and left-leaning policymakers is that the banks earn enough revenue from merchants to keep them profitable if interest rates were capped.

"A 10% credit card interest cap would save Americans $100 billion a year without causing massive account closures, as banks claim. That’s because the few large banks that dominate the credit card market are making absolutely massive profits on customers at all income levels," said Brian Shearer, director of competition and regulatory policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, who wrote the research on the industry's impact of Trump's proposal last year.

There are some historic examples that interest rate caps do cut off the less creditworthy to financial products because banks are not able to price risk correctly. Arkansas has a strictly enforced interest rate cap of 17% and evidence points to the poor and less creditworthy being cut out of consumer credit markets in the state. Shearer's research showed that an interest rate cap of 10% would likely result in banks lending less to those with credit scores below 600.

The White House did not respond to questions about how the president seeks to cap the rate or whether he has spoken with credit card companies about the idea.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who said he talked with Trump on Friday night, said the effort is meant to “lower costs for American families and to reign in greedy credit card companies who have been ripping off hardworking Americans for too long."

Legislation in both the House and the Senate would do what Trump is seeking.

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., released a plan in February that would immediately cap interest rates at 10% for five years, hoping to use Trump’s campaign promise to build momentum for their measure.

Hours before Trump's post, Sanders said that the president, rather than working to cap interest rates, had taken steps to deregulate big banks that allowed them to charge much higher credit card fees.

Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., have proposed similar legislation. Ocasio-Cortez is a frequent political target of Trump, while Luna is a close ally of the president.

Seung Min Kim reported from West Palm Beach, Fla.

President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, Friday, Jan. 9, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Visa and Mastercard credit cards are shown in Buffalo Grove, Ill., Feb. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)