Japan Have Big World Cup Ambitions

Japan have never gone beyond the last-16 at a World Cup, but they have set themselves the ambitious target of winning next year's tournament after dominating in Asian qualifying.

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Tokyo - Japan have never gone beyond the last-16 at a World Cup, but they have set themselves the ambitious target of winning next year's tournament after dominating in Asian qualifying.

Hajime Moriyasu's side became the first team to punch their ticket to the 2026 competition in the United States, Canada and Mexico when they beat Bahrain 2-0 last week in Saitama.

With their place sealed, they followed that up with a 0-0 home draw with Saudi Arabia, giving them 20 points from eight games with 24 goals scored and two conceded in the third round of qualifiers.