Soccer Football - World Cup - AFC Qualifiers - Third Round - Group C - Japan v Bahrain - Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan - March 20, 2025 Japan's Takefusa Kubo celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
(Reuters) - Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup on Thursday as Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo struck in the second half to earn Hajime Moriyasu's side a 2-0 win over Bahrain at Saitama Stadium and confirm their place at next year's finals.
Crystal Palace midfielder Kamada came off the bench to put Japan in front in the 66th minute and Kubo added the second three minutes from time to keep the Samurai Blue in pole position in Group C of Asia's preliminaries.
