Japan vs Saudi Arabia

Saitama Stadium is the venue as Japan and Saudi Arabia go head-to-head in a mouth-watering 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Two unanswered goals past the hour mark inspired Japan to a 2-0 home win against Bahrain last weekend, securing an eighth consecutive World Cup finals appearance with three games to spare. Indeed, Hajime Moriyasu’s men head into proceedings as the only team in Group C yet to lose a game (W6, D1) whilst netting an intimidating 22 goals, an average of 3.14 per match. Barring a 1-1 draw against Australia in round four, ‘Samurai Blue’ won their two remaining home qualifiers in this section without conceding while scoring nine goals – seven of which came in the second half. A more conservative contest could be on the cards, considering Japan’s last five meetings with Saudi Arabia have seen one team fail to score in matches garnering under 2.5 goals.

Worryingly for the visitors, they’ve lost three of the last four H2Hs, including a 2-0 home defeat in October’s reverse fixture. That result formed part of Saudi Arabia’s dreadful four-match scoreless run in World Cup qualifying (D2, L2) before a narrow 1-0 home win against China saw them return to winning ways. However, Herve Renard’s charges trail second-placed Australia by a point ahead of this round, having only beaten China in the first seven rounds (D3, L2). Since a 2-1 triumph on Chinese soil at the start of the qualifying cycle, the Green Falcons have gone back-to-back away games in this section without finding the net (D1, L1).