Japan thrashed Syria 5-0 on Tuesday to complete the Asian second round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers with six straight wins and no goals conceded in Group B.
Ayase Ueda, Ritsu Doan, Yuki Soma and Takumi Minamino all netted, while Syria also conceded an own goal, as the already-qualified Samural Blue cruised at Edion Peace Wing Hiroshima, the new home of Sanfrecce Hiroshima, Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu's former club as a player and manager.
"The players worked hard from the preparation period and made the right challenges in the match," Moriyasu said. "The final round will be a battle at a totally different level. We'll keep building things and do our best rolling our sleeves up."
Japan, currently 18th in the world, made nine changes from Thursday's 5-0 win over Myanmar, with the two who retained their spots, Keito Nakamura and Doan, starring in the first half. The former's left-wing cross was headed in off the bar by Ueda as Japan took the lead with their first shot on target in the 13th minute.
Doan doubled the lead six minutes later after beating Syria keeper Esteban Glellel at the near post from the edge of the box, with the move set off by Nakamura's incisive pass from deep inside his own half to find Takefusa Kubo.
Captain Wataru Endo's fine floated ball was not finished off by Doan but Kubo's pass was diverted by Syrian defender Thaer Krouma into his own net in the 21st minute. Ueda, in the absence of the video assistant referee, was denied a scoring chance with a tight offside call on the stroke of halftime against 89th-ranked Syria.
With Moriyasu choosing to start the second half with a four-man defense, Japan's previously flowing movement appeared to stagnate. It was not until the hour mark that they had their next noteworthy chance, as Minamino's header off Kubo's chipped cross was cleared off the line.
Ueda, Koki Machida and Doan all came close before Daichi Kamada's through ball for fellow substitute Soma drew a penalty. The versatile Soma buried his shot from the spot in the 73rd minute before Minamino rifled into the far bottom corner from the edge of the area to complete the rout in the 85th minute.
The final qualifying round starts in September with the draw set to take place on June 27, splitting 18 teams into three groups of six.
