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| Japan have thus far been flawless in their qualification campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup -- racking up eight consecutive wins and scoring 36 goals while conceding none. Hiroki Watanabe/Getty Images |
Suffice to say, the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have gone according to plan thus far for Japan.
In fact, they might even have exceeded expectations -- lofty as they may be for a team often regarded as the best in the continent.
Last month, the Samurai Blue opened the third round of the Asian World Cup qualifiers with emphatic 7-0 and 5-0 victories over China and Bahrain.
If their flawless record in the previous stage is factored in, it means that Japan's current campaign has seen them rack up eight consecutive wins with 36 goals scored and none conceded.
They are well on their way to an 8th successive World Cup appearance and are doing it in style and yet, it might not be inaccurate to suggest that they have a make-or-break week ahead of them.
Perhaps not "break", but the next seven days could certainly make their progress to the 2026 World Cup -- to be held in United States, Mexico and Canada -- a virtual certainty.
On Thursday, Japan resume their campaign with a trip to Saudi Arabia which will then be followed by a home game against Australia next Tuesday.
When the draw for the third round of Asian qualifiers was made back in June, Group C immediately loomed as the 'group of death'.
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| Feyenoord's Ayase Ueda has been one of the stars of Japan's FIFA World Cup qualification campaign so far with eight goals -- including two in their most-recent 5-0 victory over Bahrain last month. Hiroki Watanabe/Getty Images |
In Japan, Saudi Arabia and Australia, it consisted three of the six teams that had represented Asia at the last World Cup.
In a previous era, one of these usual suspects would have been at real risk of missing out.
Still, the World Cup's expansion to a 48-team tournament means Asia now have eight guaranteed qualification berths. While only the top two in each group advance automatically, the third and fourth-placed teams will still have a chance when they move on to the fourth round of qualifiying.
At present, Japan do not look at risk of being involved in the latter scenario and they most certainly do not want to wait any longer than necessary to secure their spot at the World Cup.
Nonetheless, the quality of opposition that they will face over the next seven days, as well as the expanded nature of the new qualification process, means that a couple of poor results could easily see them dragged back into a melee for a top-two finish.
A trip to Jeddah to face Saudi Arabia was always likely to be the biggest test out of Japan's ten third-round ties.
Although they do not have nearly as many players plying their trade in Europe as Japan, the Green Falcons boast considerable talent and have regularly shown they can match it with some of the strongest teams on the planet -- as they did at the last World Cup in 2022 when they inflicted an opening 2-1 defeat on Argentina, the only loss the eventual champions would suffer.
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| Japan and Saudi Arabia also faced off in qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, with both teams sharing a victory each in their respective home ties. MB Media/Getty Images |
Last month, Saudi Arabia might have been held to a shock draw by Indonesia but they then followed up with a 2-1 victory over China -- a result that was all the more impressive considering they had fallen behind and had a man sent off by the 20th minute yet somehow managed to come from behind and win.
Even for a star-studded Samurai Blue outfit, Saudi Arabia will pose quite the challenge especially if King Abdullah Sports City comes close to filling out its 62,345 capacity.
Then, there is Australia.
The Socceroos are hardly slouches on paper but their latest displays have not matched their stature.
Defeat to Bahrain and a stalemate with Indonesia in the last international window led to the departure of Graham Arnold, meaning it will be Tony Popovic who will be attempting to mastermind an upset at Saitama Stadium next week.
Recent form suggests Japan will be favourites but they will be aware of the dangers in underestimating Australia, especially given the curious-but-frequent phenomenon which sees teams often enjoy immediate improvement in the wake of a new coach arriving.
Should the Samurai Blue fail to win either tie, they could be right back in the mix. Six points, however, would see them continue on their seemingly unstoppable march to the 2026 World Cup.
Even before a ball was kicked in the third round of Asian qualifiers, this week in October would already have been identified as a crucial one for Japan.
While results from last month mean the situation might not be as tight as they would have expected, the next seven days could still prove pivotal for the thus-far perfect Samurai Blue and their quest to reach yet another World Cup.
- Gabriel Tan
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