The Japanese team continued to demonstrate their superior strength in the third qualifying round of the 2026 World Cup when they faced the Chinese team right on their opponent's field.
After a cautious start, Japan began to increase the pressure and opened the scoring in the 39th minute. From a corner kick by Kubo, striker Koki Ogawa headed accurately, putting the away team ahead 1-0.
Before they could regain their composure after conceding a goal, the Chinese team conceded another goal. In the 6th minute of injury time of the first half, it was another corner kick situation, and center-back Itakura comfortably jumped high to head the ball into the net, raising the score to 2-0 for Japan.
In the second half, the Chinese team unexpectedly scored a goal to reduce the score to 1-2 in the 48th minute. Wei Shihao skillfully dribbled the ball past the Japanese defense before passing to Lin Liangming who neatly finished the ball into the net.
However, the home team's hopes were quickly extinguished. Just 6 minutes later, Junya Ito made an accurate pass from the right wing, creating an opportunity for Koki Ogawa to complete his double with a header to seal a 3-1 victory for the Japanese team.
With this victory, Japan continues to dominate Group C, with 16 points after 6 matches, 10 points ahead of Australia and almost certain to secure a ticket to the 2026 World Cup finals.
Meanwhile, this defeat caused the Chinese team to be surpassed by Indonesia in the rankings. The Chinese team is currently ranked 5th, behind Indonesia in terms of secondary index, while Bahrain is still at the bottom of the table.
