Japan's national team concluded its journey in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on a high note.
The Samurai Blue achieved a resounding 6-0 victory over visiting Indonesia on Tuesday in the tenth and final round of Group 3 of the third stage of the World Cup qualifiers, which are being held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Japan, who had already secured their place in the next World Cup several months ago, opened the scoring through Daichi Kamada in the 15th minute, before Takefusa Kubo added the second goal in the 19th minute.
Kamada struck again, scoring Japan's third goal and his second in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time, while Ryoya Morishita and Shoto Mashino added the fourth and fifth goals in the 55th and 58th minutes, respectively.
Mao Hosoya concluded the Japanese goal celebration by scoring the home team's sixth goal in the 79th minute.
With this result, Japan, who had regained their winning streak in the previous two rounds with a draw against Saudi Arabia and a loss to Australia, continued their ascent to the top of Group C, raising their tally to 23 points.
In contrast, Indonesia, which secured its place in the World Cup play-offs since the previous round, remained in fourth place with 12 points.
The top two teams from each of the three groups in the third round of qualifiers will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup, while the third- and fourth-place teams will advance to the fourth round to compete for two World Cup berths and a play-off spot.
