Japan’s Samurai Blue became the first team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup after defeating
Bahrain 2-0 in the Qualifiers earlier today.
Goals from Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada and Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo in the second
half took Japan to 19 points, 9 points ahead of second place Australia and 13 points clear of
Saudi Arabia in 3rd with 3 games to go in Group C of the World Cup Qualifiers AFC.
Japan became the first nation to qualify for the now expanded 48-nation tournament to be held in
the United States of America, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19 in 2026.
This will be the 8th consecutive appearance for the Asian nation in the prestigious competition, with their
first coming in the 1998 World Cup in France.
Their recent appearance was in the Qatar 2022 World Cup where they stunned European giants Spain and Germany to finish 1st in Group E.
They were later knocked out by Croatia in a 3-1 penalty shootout.
