Japan first to seal 2026 World Cup spot as South Korea, Australia get closer
Japan players pose together as they celebrate after defeating Bahrain in the World Cup qualifying soccer match at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan on Mar 20, 2025. (Photo: AP/Eugene Hoshiko)
SAITAMA: Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup on Thursday (Mar 20) as South Korea were held but still inched closer along with a rampant Australia
Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo scored in the second half to give Japan a 2-0 home win over Bahrain and secure their place at next year's finals.
The runaway Asian Group C leaders failed to sparkle on a chilly night in Saitama until Crystal Palace forward Kamada pounced for the opener in the 66th minute.
Kubo added another in the 87th minute as Japan punched their ticket to the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
It will be their eighth straight World Cup appearance.
Australia's 5-1 home win over Indonesia earlier in the evening meant Japan would have clinched their place even with a draw.
But Kamada made sure they did it in style in front of an expectant crowd of just under 60,000.
He latched onto a reverse pass from Kubo and dispatched the ball past Bahrain goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla just three minutes after coming on as a substitute.
Real Sociedad's Kubo added some extra gloss to the night with a left-footed shot from a tight angle.
Japan's players sprinted onto the pitch at the final whistle and celebrated with the home supporters.
Japan have been in unstoppable form in the Asian third round of qualifiers and went into the game having won five and drawn one of their games so far.
Coach Hajime Moriyasu started with an experienced line-up featuring Premier League talent in Liverpool's Wataru Endo and Brighton's Kaoru Mitoma.
Captain Endo thought he had given his team the lead in the ninth minute when he rammed home a loose ball in the box, only for the goal to be disallowed by VAR.
Japan continued to press for the opener but Bahrain had several dangerous raids on the counterattack and Komail Al Aswad should have done better just after the half-hour mark.
Japan were also wasteful and Mitoma blazed over the bar with the goal at his mercy in first-half injury time.
Moriyasu shuffled his pack midway through the second half, bringing on Kamada and Junya Ito for Takumi Minamino and Ritsu Doan.
The impact was immediate as Kamada gave Japan the lead with his ninth goal for his country.
Kubo went close to adding another with a curling shot that Lutfalla clawed away with five minutes remaining.
But the attacker got his goal with time running out as Japan made sure of the win, and with it a place in North America.
TOP TWO GO THROUGH
Australia are in pole position to qualify out of Group C with Japan.
Two goals in two minutes helped the Socceroos secure their thrashing of Indonesia as Dutch legend Patrick Kluivert was well beaten in his first game in charge.
Japan lead on 19 points. Australia are second on 10 points, four clear of the chasing pack of Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Bahrain and China.
Australia have three games left to play, starting with a crunch away fixture against China on Tuesday.
The top two go straight to North America, with teams finishing third and fourth in the three Asian groups going into a further round of qualifying.
Indonesia missed an early penalty before a Martin Boyle spot-kick and a Nishan Velupillay strike inside a frantic opening 20 minutes did the damage at Sydney Football Stadium.
A brace from Jackson Irvine and another by Lewis Miller sealed a big win, but Australian skipper Mat Ryan was not entirely satisfied.
"I think the scoreline flatters us a little bit to be honest," the goalkeeper said.
"At the start of the game they had two big chances, and if they put one of them away, it could have been a different game."
OMAN LATE LEVELLER
South Korea are still on course for 2026 but conceded a goal with 10 minutes left as Oman snatched a precious 1-1 away draw.
The hosts looked set for all three points after Wolves striker Hwang Hee-chan put them ahead in the first half with a clinical finish after Lee Kang-in's superb threaded through ball.
But Ali Al Busaidi struck from just outside the box to stun most of the crowd at the Goyang Stadium.
South Korea still lead Asian qualifying Group B with 15 points and three matches left to play, starting with a home game against Jordan next Tuesday.
Iraq are second in the group on 11 points but have played a game less.
Jordan are third on nine with Oman fourth on seven.
