The first couple of matches in the World Cup 2026 Asian qualifiers (third round) are now in the past, as SBOTOP football fans will now have to wait until October before the tournament resumes.
As it stands, it’s looking like there’s little to separate a lot of the teams—even the most grizzled World Cup veterans in South Korea and Australia are struggling.
But as they go through the wringer, one team stands out: Japan. The Samurai Blue were dominant in the second round of the Asian qualifiers, scoring a total of 24 goals and conceding none against North Korea, Syria and Myanmar.
Two matches into the third round, and they’ve already tallied half of that, as they destroyed China and Bahrain (7-0, 0-5).
Of course, they are favoured by the World Cup 2026 odds to be one of the Asian teams to advance, but this dominance—scoring 36 goals in eight matches played so far and are yet to concede—is something to behold.
Looking to make amends
The Samurai Blue had a bittersweet experience in the 2022 World Cup.
On one hand, they defeated European powerhouses Germany and Spain in order to advance to the tournament’s last 16. On the other hand, their bid to advance to the quarter-final of a World Cup for the first time in history was denied after bowing out to Croatia.
The mere fact that Croatia came from behind to win it on penalties made Japan’s exit feel worse.
Then came the Asian Cup earlier this year, where the four-time champions and tournament favourites lost in the quarter-final against Iran (2-1); a match where Hajime Moriyasu’s side were touted to win.
Aside from struggling on the pitch, there were plenty of off-field issues for the team as well, with Junya Ito and Zion Suzuki involved in messy scandals.
But all of these are now behind them, and the Samurai Blue are looking scary, battering their AFC counterparts left and right.
In the second round, people were saying that Japan’s dominance in their group is due to the fact that their opponents were nowhere near their level, hence, the lopsided scorelines.
China and Bahrain were worthier teams and would pose more problems. The Samurai Blue also have Australia and Saudi Arabia to worry about.
But as things are looking so far, Japan may sweep the round once again en route to qualifying for the World Cup.
Led by the likes of Ayase Ueda, Takumi Minamino, Takefusa Kubo, Kaoru Mitoma, Wataru Endo and Ritsu Doan—all of whom are playing in Europe—Japan showed no mercy to both China and Bahrain.
Against China, Japan had 78 per cent of the ball whilst firing 17 shots (nine on target) as compared to China having only 22 per cent of the possession and one shot … literally just one shot the entire match.
A few days later, Bahrain suffered the same fate when Ueda and Hidemasa Morita scored a brace each, whilst Koki Ogawa put the finishing touches in the 81st minute to solidify their lead in the standings.
The Samurai Blue will face Saudi Arabia a month from now, and it’s safe to say that they’ll blow past the Saudi Arabians like their famed bullet trains race through time.
How are South Korea and Australia holding up?
Like Japan, South Korea and Australia also had fairly straightforward matches in the second round. The Taegeuk Warriors won all but one game (scoring 20 and conceding once), whilst the Socceroos were unblemished, winning all matches and conceding a grand total of zero goals.
However, as their recent World Cup 2026 results in the third round suggest, things haven’t been all sunshine and rainbows so far.
South Korea had a shocking draw with Palestine in their first match before putting three goals past Oman yesterday.
Meanwhile, Australia sit fifth in the Group C standings after a loss and a draw against Bahrain and Indonesia.
In the loss against Bahrain, the Socceroos went down to 10-men after a 77th-minute red card to Kusini Yengi, which was followed by a Harry Souttar own goal in the 89th minute to effectively seal the Aussies’ fate.
They then failed to find a winner past the gritty Indonesians after a hard-fought contest saw yesterday’s match end goalless. As of writing, only Uzbekistan and Iran join Japan with six points each. However, none can match the firepower coming out of the ‘Land of the Rising Sun.’
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
