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
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 REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Soccer Football - World Cup - AFC Qualifiers - Third Round - Group C - Japan v Bahrain - Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan - March 20, 2025 Japan's Daichi Kamada celebrates scoring their first goal with Takefusa Kubo REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
Soccer Football - World Cup - AFC Qualifiers - Third Round - Group C - Japan v Bahrain - Saitama Stadium, Saitama, Japan - March 20, 2025 Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu reacts REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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 REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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Japan beat Bahrain 2-0 in Saitama on Thursday to become the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and extend their run of successive appearances at the finals to eight.
The 2026 tournament will be staged in the United States, Mexico and Canada, and is the first to have a field of 48 teams, up from 32 in 2022.
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