If Japan is able to overcome Bahrain at Saitama Stadium on Thursday, they will become the first nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. This will be accomplished by Hajime Moriyasu’s team, who are looking to maintain their dominant performance in the preliminary matches of the Asian tournament.
With four games remaining, the Japanese are currently 10 points clear of Indonesia, who is currently in third position. The Japanese have only dropped two points from their six qualifiers, which included a 1-1 tie with Australia in October.
Despite the fact that Australia is nine points behind the Samurai Blue and holds the second automatic qualification position in the group, the Socceroos are only one point ahead of Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and China.
In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will meet China, while Australia will play home to an Indonesian team that will be competing for the first time under the direction of new coach Patrick Kluivert.
Qualifiers who are perennial Hong Myung-bo’s team needs to win against Oman in Goyang on Thursday and then pick up another winning result against Jordan in order to secure their ticket in the next round of the tournament. South Korea is on the edge of advancing from Group B.
Having played six qualifiers, South Korea has accumulated 14 points, which puts them three points ahead of Iraq, who is in second position. Jordan, who is in third place, is two points behind South Korea.
Basra will play home to Kuwait, who finished in fifth place, while Amman will be the location of Palestine’s match against Jordan. Iraq is hoping to make it to the finals for the first time since 1986.
While Iran is playing host to the United Arab Emirates in Tehran in Group A, they have the opportunity to move closer to securing a spot in the finals.
Amir Ghalenoei’s squad is now in first place in the standings from Uzbekistan, three points ahead of the United Arab Emirates, and three points ahead of the UAE.
