There were two weeks of National Team match day between the league's twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth rounds.
China Team faced Japan away from home, and Yang Yang and the other overseas-based internationals all returned to fight for their country. As long as China Team avoided defeat in this match, they would secure a top-two finish in the group and qualify for the Brazil World Cup ahead of schedule, without having to play in the playoffs.
The two sides battled evenly in the first half. Both had recalled all their overseas-based internationals, but after their long journeys, neither side was in particularly good form. The first half was therefore somewhat dull, with Japan still holding the advantage.
However, shortly before halftime, Kagawa Shinji's goal gave Japan a one-nil lead.
After the sides switched ends in the second half, Okazaki Shinji scored in the sixtieth minute to extend Japan's lead.
China Team currently sat atop the group standings, while Japan and Australia were competing for second place. Neither wanted to enter the playoffs; both wanted direct qualification. Japan therefore gave it everything that night, fighting China Team to the bitter end.
After going two goals up, Japan relaxed considerably. But in the sixty-ninth minute, Yang Yang dribbled through the middle with a Forceful Breakthrough, throwing Japan's defense into chaos and sending a brilliant pass to Chen Tao on the right. Chen Tao's shot found the net, pulling one back.
Then, in the eighty-sixth minute, Yang Yang received another brilliant pass from Hao Junmin. He chipped the ball past his marker in the penalty area, turned, and fired home to level the score.
In the end, the two sides drew two-two.
Japan was plunged into despair. Failing to take three points from China Team at home had left them in a highly disadvantageous position