On the evening of March 20 (Vietnam time), the Japanese team played against Bahrain in the 7th round of the 3rd qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup in Asia.
In a rather difficult match, Japan opened the scoring with the first shot of the match. In the 66th minute, Ayase Ueda received the ball and passed it to Takefusa Kubo, a player from Real Sociedad immediately had an assist for Daichi Kamada to score.
In the 87th minute, Kubo continued to shine with a goal to seal the score at 2-0. From a left corner kick, he received the ball from Junya Ito, broke the offside trap and shot accurately into a narrow corner, leaving the Bahrain goalkeeper unable to react. This was also the goal that sealed the 2-0 victory for the Japanese team.
This victory helped Japan top Group C with 19 points after 7 matches, 13 points more than the third-placed team and playing one more match. With only three more matches left, coach Hajime and his team Moriyasu have secured one of the top two spots in the group, thereby winning a ticket to the 2026 World Cup finals.
This is the 8th consecutive time Japan has participated in the World Cup, and also the first time they have won an early ticket to 3 matches. Japan is currently ranked 15th in the FIFA rankings and is the number one team in Asia. The 2026 World Cup will be held from June 11, 2026 to July 19, 2026 with 48 teams.
