Fifa World Cup 2026: Japan, Son Heung-min’s South Korea could grab first spots in finals
Japanese nine points clear of Australia in their group as region’s teams play fixtures on Thursday and Tuesday
Japan can become the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup this week while Son Heung-min will try to forget his Tottenham woes by firing South Korea to the finals.
Asian nations play two rounds of games, on Thursday and Tuesday, as qualifying for the enlarged 48-team tournament in North America approaches the business end in the region.
Japan will seal their spot with three qualifying matches to go if, as expected, they beat Bahrain at home in Saitama on Thursday.
Even if they stumble, it looks only a matter of time until they secure a place in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as they have another home match – against Saudi Arabia – next week.
Hajime Moriyasu’s side are nine points clear of Australia at the top of Group C, having won five and drawn one of their six games in this phase of qualifying, scoring 22 goals and conceding twice.
Moriyasu named a full-strength squad led by Liverpool’s Wataru Endo and Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma, but said there were plenty of other players who deserved call-ups.