FOOTBALL – BAHRAIN suffered a crushing 0-5 defeat to continental giants Japan last night in the third round of Asian qualification for the Fifa World Cup 2026.
Three players were on target for the visitors, including Ayase Ueda and Hidemasa Morita, who scored a brace apiece. Substitute Koki Ogawa supplied their fifth to apply the nail in the coffin.
It was a disheartening result for the nationals, who were coming off an historic 1-0 away triumph against Australia last week. They headed into yesterday’s affair with high hopes, and were boosted by the legion of local fans who packed the National Stadium in Riffa to the brim.
But Japan, who are Asia’s top-ranked side, showed their quality and were in a class of their own in a four-goal second half. They posted their second successive rout in this stage of qualifiers – following their 7-0 drubbing of China in their opening fixture – and have strengthened their hold on first place in Group C, where they have a maximum six points.
The Bahrainis are third on the table with three points.
In yesterday’s other Group C fixtures, Australia were held to a goalless draw by hosts Indonesia at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta, while Saudi Arabia posted a last-gasp, come-from-behind 2-1 away win against China at Dalian Suoyuwan Football Stadium.
The next matchdays in the Asian qualifiers are scheduled for next month. Bahrain will be hosting Indonesia on October 10 at the National Stadium and then will travel to Jeddah to take on the Saudis at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium on October 15.
Bahrain head coach Dragan Talajic made no changes to his starting 11 from the one that began the Australia game.
Ebrahim Lutfhallah was again between the posts; Amine Benaddi, Sayed Mahdi Baqer, Vincent Emmanuel, and Abdulla Al Khalasi were in defence; Abbas Al Asfoor, Ali Madan, Mohammed Jassim Marhoon, and Ali Haram were in midfield; and skipper Komail Al Aswad and Mahdi Abduljabbar took to the front.
Japan opened their account with a 37th minute penalty scored by Ueda. They were awarded the spot kick after an Al Khalasi handball. Daichi Kamada looked to deliver a short cross from the right of the box, but his pass hit Al Khalasi’s left arm.
Following a lengthy VAR check, Ueda stepped forward to take the shot and – while overcoming a laser being pointed in his face from the stands – sent a right-footed effort to the bottom-left corner of the net past a diving Lutfhallah, who had guessed the right way. Ueda’s opener was enough to give them the slim, single-goal advantage at the break.
Japan then doubled their lead right after the re-start, with Ueda on target once again. He received a pass from teammate Junya Ito, who had come on as a substitute. Ueda controlled the ball and hit a turning shot in the face of the Bahrain defence. His effort bounced off the left upright and into the net.
Ueda then provided the assist that led to Japan’s third goal in the 61st minute. He had a fine one-two with Morita, who made no mistake with his effort from the left of goal. Morita then made it 4-0 following a cross from the left of the box, sent in by Kaoru Mitoma. Morita made no mistake with his chance, tapping the ball in with his left foot from point-blank range.
Ogawa scored Japan’s fifth with nine minutes to go in regular time. A shot by substitute Keito Nakamura was saved by Luthfallah with his left foot, but the ball bounced high into the air and Ogawa was first to react, heading in from just inches off the goal line.
The Japanese were first to threaten in the contest with a Ritsu Doan attempt in the eighth minute that hit the woodwork. Doan was on the receiving end of a cross from Mitoma and he slid to try and send the ball home, but his shot bounced off the left post and went straight to Luthfallah.
The Bahrainis then had a good chance just three minutes later when Al Aswad nearly headed into the top-right corner of goal. His shot was pushed away by Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki to concede a corner. It was eventually Bahrain’s best chance to score.
Action in continental qualification’s third round continues until June of next year. There are three groups in this phase. Group A features Iran, Qatar, Uzbekistan, the UAE, Kyrgyzstan and North Korea; while Group B is composed of South Korea, Iraq, Jordan, Oman, Palestine and Kuwait.
The top two finishers from each will punch their tickets to the Fifa World Cup 2026 finals.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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