Australia vs Japan

The stakes are sky-high for Australia as they meet Japan in their penultimate 2026 World Cup qualifier at Optus Stadium in Perth. 

Automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup is on the line for Australia as they head into proceedings harboring a three-point lead over third-placed Saudi Arabia in qualifying Group C. Except for a shock 1-0 home defeat to group minnows Bahrain last September, the Socceroos have gone unbeaten in all seven remaining qualifiers (W3, D4), including back-to-back multi-goal margin victories over China and Indonesia in the build-up to this fixture. With only two games remaining, Tony Popovic’s men are masters of their destiny, yet facing Japan potentially spells trouble for the Aussies, who last won a World Cup qualifier against this opposition in 2009. Furthermore, they’ve since met the Japanese seven times in this competition without ever winning (D4, L3).

On the other hand, despite drawing 0-0 at home against Saudi Arabia in their last World Cup qualifier, the visitors have secured an eighth consecutive qualification for the most prestigious international tournament with two games to spare. In doing so, Hajime Moriyasu’s men preserved a chance to go an entire World Cup qualifying cycle without losing for the first time in the nation’s history (W12, D2). They’ve been near-flawless in Group C (W6, D2), racking up an eye-catching +22 goal difference (GF:24, GA:2). Japan’s defensive prowess has been off the charts, and they’ll likely uphold that outstanding record here, having conceded under 1.5 goals in their last seven World Cup qualifying H2Hs with Australia.