Ed Odeven 
Japan's Daichi Kamada (left) celebrates with teammate Takefusa Kubo after scoring the first goal against Bahrain in a 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Group C third-round qualifier on March 20 at Saitama Stadium. (©Kyung Hoon Kim/REUTERS)
Read the full story on SportsLook - Japan Clinches 2026 FIFA World Cup Berth by Beating Bahrain
Japan entered its match against Bahrain on Thursday night, March 20 with a chance to become the first national team to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
And that's exactly what happened at Saitama Stadium: Japan 2, Bahrain 0.
Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo scored second-half goals for the Samurai Blue and manager Hajime Moriyasu's squad maintained its unbeaten record in the third round of Asian qualifying. Japan now has six wins and one draw against Group C foes, and it holds an insurmountable nine-point lead in the standings. (Second-place Australia trails by nine points.)
Starting in 1998, the Samurai Blue have qualified for eight consecutive World Cups.
In the previous Japan-Bahrain match in September 2024, the Samurai Blue routed the hosts 5-0 in Riffa, Bahrain.
This time, Bahrain delivered a stronger performance and provided a greater challenge for Japan.
Japan captain Wataru Endo assessed his team's play after the final whistle.
"First of all, I am happy that we were selected to participate in the World Cup," the Liverpool standout told reporters. "Today's match was not easy, but we were able to persevere and score goals in the end to win it."
How did Moriyasu evaluate Japan's performance?
"It was a difficult game, but we knew that if we could tough it out then things would start to turn for us," Moriyasu was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse. "We made some adjustments in the second half and the players continued to work hard."
Substitutes Provide Energy for Japan in 2nd Half
Those adjustments included a spark off the bench when Moriyasu brought in Kamada for Takumi Minamino in the 63rd minute and Junya Ito for Ritsu Doan.
Kamada, who plies his craft for the English Premier League's Crystal Palace, latched onto a well-placed pass from Kubo and booted the ball past Bahrain goalkeeper Ebrahim Lutfalla in the 66th minute.
Continue reading the full story on SportsLook.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
