In the second match of Group C, Japan won 5-0 against Bahrain - the team that beat Australia 1-0 in the opening match. Compared to the 7-0 victory over China, coach Hajime Moriyasu only changed one position in the starting lineup, by using Daichi Kamada to replace Takefusa Kubo.
Thanks to that, the Japanese team still played smoothly and in harmony to defeat their opponents 5-0. This was also the 6th consecutive match that Kubo and his teammates kept a clean sheet. In these 6 matches, they scored 26 goals.
“Due to the short preparation time, I wanted the players to make the most of their experience from the last match. Therefore, I only changed one player in the starting lineup,” coach Moriyasu shared.
Despite their strong performance in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Moriyasu remained humble. “This is not an easy group,” he said. “In the match against Bahrain, we did not create many chances in the first half. Bahrain created chances in the second half and could have scored first.
I am very happy that the players endured the pressure and could not concede a goal. The Japanese team had a big win, but this was not an easy match."
Also in this match, Bahrain fans repeatedly shined lasers at Japanese players. Coach Moriyasu complained about this, because he thought that this behavior was not nice and was harmful to other people's bodies.
Meanwhile, coach Dragan Talajic admired the strength of the Japanese team. He said: "I apologize to the Bahraini fans for this result. I am disappointed with the heavy defeat, it was unbelievable.
There are no easy matches in the World Cup qualifiers. The teams are all very strong. For example, Indonesia got 2 points after drawing with Saudi Arabia and Australia. Bahrain got 3 points after 2 matches with Australia and Japan. That is remarkable."
