Super awesome! World No. 1 aims to win the first final qualifying round, and 00 draws with Saudi Arabia are confirmed as No. 1 in the world
Mar 25, 2025
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Japan's national soccer team, led by coach Hajime Moriyasu, drew 0-0 against Saudi Arabia in Group C of the third Asian qualifying round for the 2026 North-China World Cup at Saitama Stadium in Saitama, Japan, on the 25th. Japan had six wins and two draws (20 points). I've confirmed my No. 1 spot. Japan will conclude the third Asian qualifying round with a match between Australia (away) and Indonesia (home) in June. Japanese media Mainichi Shimbun reported that if they do not lose the remaining two matches, they will finish the final qualifying round of the World Cup undefeated for the first time.
Japan confirmed its trip to North Korea, China and the U.S. early on. On the 20th, he won 2-0 against Bahrain. With 6 wins and 1 draw (19 points), he secured at least the second place in the group regardless of the results of the remaining three games. The first and second place winners of Group A to C of this tournament will go straight to the World Cup finals. As a result, Japan became the first country to qualify for the North Korea-China World Cup finals. Japan has also advanced to the World Cup finals for eight consecutive times since the 1998 French Games, when it first made the finals. Japan's best record at the World Cup is three times in the round of 16 (2002, 2018, 2022). Moriyasu, who has led Japan since 2018, became the first Japanese head coach to lead the team to the World Cup finals for two consecutive times.
Japan was overwhelmed in this series. Last year, they beat China (7-0), Bahrain (5-0), Saudi Arabia (2-0), Australia (1-1 draw), Indonesia (4-0 win) and China (3-1 win) in a row. He also beat Bahrain 2-0 in the first A match of 2025. He scored 24 points and allowed 2 runs in seven games.
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In fact, Japan made changes to the starting lineup on that day. Compared to the match against Bahrain, he changed his starting position to seven. Young players such as Takai Kota, who was born in 2004, were also boldly put in. Only Suzuki Zaion, Itakura Ko, Endo Wataru and Kubo Takefusa started two consecutive games.
Japan, which confirmed the World Cup early on, drew 0-0 at home on the same day. In the second half, Junya Ito, Takumi Minamino, and Doan Ritz were put in to make changes, but there were no points.
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
