SAINTS man Maya Yoshida was delighted to take on the extra responsibility after captaining Japan to a 2-0 victory in a World Cup qualifier against the United Arab Emirates.

Usual skipper Makoto Hasebe was out injured so Yoshida stepped up to lead from back and saw his side win in Al Ain thanks to goals from Yuya Kubo and Yasuyuki Konno.

The central defender, who has been playing a prominent role at Saints in injured captain Virgil van Dijk's absence, felt the pressure but was elated.

"I'm buzzing. Of course, for me it was the first time to take such a great responsibility," the 28-year-old said.

"You feel more pressure than usual and I wanted to try even harder for Hasebe. In another way, I didn't want us to lose and people say the reason was because Hasebe was not in the team."

The Blue Samurai are locked on 13 points at the top of Asian qualifying Group B with leaders Saudi Arabia.

They host Thailand in another qualifier on Tuesday.