For the first time in history, the next 2026 FIFA World Cup will have as many as 48 participants instead of the 32 it has had since 1998. The three co-hosts – USA, Canada, and Mexico – immediately took as many spots, and today, we found out the name of the first national team that booked its place in North America.African qualifiers’ magic: Mozambique take the lead directly from a corner! (VIDEO)Thanks to their 2-0 triumph over Bahrain earlier today, Japan secured the spot among the best 48 teams in the world and will be one of the eight (possibly nine) Asian representatives. And they completely deserved it!🇯🇵 Japan are the FIRST team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026 with 3 games remaining. 🌎 It’s the first time they qualified for the tournament faster than ever before.⚽️ Kamada Daichi and Kubo Takefusa scored to defeat Bahrain by two goals to nil.#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/rMC0pkMGW9— FIFA World Cup Stats (@alimo_philip) March 20, 2025 The popular Blue Samurai noted six wins in seven games with a stunning goal difference – 24-2! Apart from beating Asian minnows like Indonesia and the aforementioned Bahrain, the Japanese thrashed China twice (7-0 and 3-1) and brushed aside the regular World Cup participants, Saudi Arabia, 2-0 in Jeddah. Australia were the only ones to “evade the Samurai katana,” salvaging a 1-1 draw in Saitama.Japan’s goal with Kubo and Kamada involved ✨🎩 https://t.co/aVlhPTKRI3— ジョヴァンニです (@Giovydesu) March 20, 2025 1️⃣ Goal 1️⃣ Assist and a masterclass from Kubo ✨#AsianQualifiers | #JPNvBHR | #POTM | @VisitSaudi pic.twitter.com/XWrlfVYqkm— #AsianQualifiers (@afcasiancup) March 20, 2025 Today, Japan’s heroes were the scorer of the opener, Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada and Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo, who noted a goal and an assist. The home team sealed the victory in the last 25 minutes, although it could have happened much earlier had Wataru Endo’s ninth-minute deadlock-breaker not been disallowed for handball.2026 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS – ASIARound 7ThursdayAustralia – Indonesia 5-1 (3-0)/Boyle 18 pen, Velupillay 20, Irvine 34, 90, Miller 61 – Haar Romeny 78/Japan – Bahrein 2-0 (0-0)/Kamada 66, Kubo 87/S.Korea – Oman 1-1 (1-0)/Hwang Hee-Chan 41 – Al Busaidi 80/19:00: (1.52) Iran (4.10) UAE (6.50)19:00: (1.20) Uzbekistan (6.50) Kyrgyzstan (16.0)21:15: (1.33) Iraq (4.90) Kuwait (10.5)21:15: (1.55) Jordan (3.70) Palestine (7.00)21:15: (1.55) Qatar (4.00) N.Korea (6.50)21:15: (1.48) Saudi Arabia (4.20) China (7.25)***odds are subject to change***
