Japan becomes first to qualify for 2026 World Cup
Japan became the first team to earn a spot in the United States, Canada, and Mexico for the World Cup next year after defeating Bahrain 2-0 on Thursday.
Daichi Kamada opened the scoring in the 66th minute in Saitama, and Takefusa Kuba wrapped up matters in the 87th minute.
The sixth victory from seven matches means that Japan is assured of a top-two finish in their group in the third Asian qualifying round and qualified for the expanded 48-team tournament.
Asia will have eight teams in the tournament for which the three host nations are directly entered.
Japan qualified for the World Cup for the eighth time since its debut in 1998. Their best result is a last-16 berth on four occasions.
The Japanese women have been more successful, winning the World Cup in 2011 and reaching the final in 2015.
(dpa/NAN)
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Rights
UTME: JAMB’s AI plan could exclude visually impaired candidates, CITAB warns
Mr Fenemigho, however, warned that without deliberate preparations, the initiative could remain an ambitious idea rather than a project.
Sport
FIFA, Adidas unveil 2026 World Cup final match ball Â
The match ball is inspired by the FIFA World Cup trophy, featuring a striking white, black, and gold design.
Heading 4
Tinubu directs probes of X, Meta over alleged exploitation of news content
Mr Ijagwu said that under the new investigation, areas of interest include allegations of market dominance and potential anti-competitive conduct.
Heading 1
Tinubu hails Nigerian Army’s role in national, regional security
Mr Tinubu said the army’s contributions have safeguarded Nigeria’s sovereignty while strengthening peace and stability across Africa and beyond.
Education
Security agencies working to rescue abducted pupils, teachers, Oyo govt tells families
The state government said in a statement on Monday that it remained fully committed to ensuring the victims’ safe return to their families.
Sport
2026 World Cup: ‘You’ve been trying to kill me for 23 years,’ Ronaldo tells journalists
Ronaldo condemned some journalists who have taken pleasure in casting a harsh spotlight on him, saying it had been the same since he was 18 years old.
