Dhaka, March 22 -- Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup (WC) on Thursday.Midfielder Kamada came off the bench to put Japan in front after 66 minutes and Kubo added the second three minutes from time to keep the Samurai Blue in pole position in Group-C of Asia's preliminaries.
The win guarantees Japan a top-two finish in the standings and sees them qualify for an eighth straight World Cup (WC).
Iran moved to the cusp of a fourth consecutive World Cup appearance with a 2-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in Tehran in Group-A action where Uzbekistan edged closer to their first qualification with a 1-0 victory over Kyrgyzstan.
The first two in each of Asia's three qualifying groups are certain to progress to the fi...