Japan today became the first country to qualify for the World Cup finals after winning Bahrain 2-0 in Saitama.
The Hajime Moriyasu side required three points from their home game in the Nation of the Middle East to secure their place in the final summer in the United States, Canada and Mexico and took it duly, though it was not the complete victory their fans were waiting for.
The hosts had to wait until the middle of the second half to break the impasse through Daichi Kamada, the midfielder who ended a brilliant sweeping move with a crunchy finish and was not until Kubo added a second to three minutes to go for them to go to three minutes to go eighth consecutive moment.
The victory was their sixth in seven qualifying games and maintains the advantage of their nine points in Group C over Australia, who destroyed Indonesia 5-1 earlier a day.
This international break could see many other nations hit their tickets in the final summer, including four from the Asian Confederation – South Korea, Iran, Uzbekistan and Iraq.
In Oceania, the qualifications will be decided next week with the four four teams competing.
New Caledonia and Tahiti meet in one semifinals with the meeting of New Zealand and Fiji on the other. The winner of the final will proceed.
In South America, the defense of Argentine champions could qualify for winning their games against Uruguay and Brazil.
