Overview before the Saudi Arabia - Japan match
Saudi Arabia started the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with less than expected results. They drew 1-1 with Indonesia, before narrowly beating China 2-1 away, playing with one less player.
Meanwhile, Japan are leading Group C with convincing form. They beat China 7-0 before defeating Bahrain 5-0 away.
Coach Moriyasu's team has many advantages to soon win a ticket to the 2026 World Cup, if they maintain their current impressive performance.
However, the strategist predicts a difficult match in Jeddah, where the Japanese team will have to adapt to hot weather and high temperatures.
“Our biggest challenge will be the hot weather, especially as most of the Japanese players play in Europe where the weather is getting colder,” he said.
The temperature in Saudi Arabia will be above 30 degrees Celsius, causing physical difficulties for the Japanese players, so we need to prepare to perform our best in these conditions.
We played well against Saudi Arabia in the previous qualifiers, but lost the decisive goal due to a mistake. Therefore, the whole team will prepare carefully in terms of tactics to avoid repeating that."
The King Abdullah Sports City Stadium - the venue of the match - is not an ideal place for the Japanese team. They lost to the host team here by a score of 0-1 in 2017 and 2021 in the World Cup qualifiers.
Of the 27 players called up, Moriyasu retained 24 who were called up in September, taking part in the two wins against China and Bahrain. Yuko Ohashi, 28, from Blackburn Rovers, was the only new recruit to the squad this time.
Saudi Arabia will be without Mohamed Kanno, who is serving a one-match suspension following a red card against China. Defender Sultan Al Ghannam is also unavailable after picking up an injury during Al Nassr's game against Al Orobah.
The Italian tactician (coach Roberto Mancini) has included midfielders Hamed Al-Ghamdi (Al Ittihad) and Ali Al-Asmari (Al Ahli Saudi FC) in the squad. This is the first time both have joined the national team since 2021.
Head to head record, score prediction
With 11 wins in the last 18 encounters between the two sides, Japan has a superior record in the head-to-head record between the two teams. Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabia team has won 6 matches.
Japan are unbeaten in 14 consecutive World Cup qualifiers, winning 13 and drawing one since a 1-0 loss to Saudi Arabia in October 2021.
Saudi Arabia have lost just one of their last 10 World Cup qualifiers since March 2022. The West Asian side have won six and drawn three.
Japan have been in explosive form recently. They have the courage to overcome the difficult challenge in Saudi Arabia.
This match is likely to be a cautious affair but the away side have more individual flair to make the difference.
Score prediction: Saudi Arabia 1-2 Japan.
