In spite of the fact that the majority of countries have not even begun their qualifying campaigns yet, the United States of America, Mexico, and Canada have become the first non-host nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup qualification process.
The most important tournament in the history of football will begin on June 11 of the following year, and it will include participation from 48 countries representing six different confederations.
This weekend marks the beginning of the qualifying matches for the European World Cup. Meanwhile, the Asian group of teams are already well into their campaigns, with some of them having already played seven matches in their group.
Due to the fact that they are hosting the tournament, the United States of America, Mexico, and Canada do not have to qualify for the tournament and have already secured their spots.
Furthermore, the first nation that was not the host nation has now secured their spot in the subsequent World Cup.
After defeating Bahrain by a score of 2-0 in an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifier on Thursday morning, Japan has secured a spot at the 2026 tournament.
The goals that were scored by Crystal Palace midfielder Daichi Kamada and Real Sociedad winger Takefusa Kubo were the ones that sealed the victory for the team that was coached by Hajime Moriyasu.
As of right now, they have not suffered a single defeat in the qualifying process. They have won seven games and drawn two others, which has allowed them to secure a spot in the World Cup with a game to spare in Group C.
Some people believe that Japan could be considered a “dark horse” for the tournament due to the fact that they completed qualifying with such impressive results.
Not only does Japan have players like Kamada and Kubo, but they also have Wataru Endo of Liverpool, Takumi Minamino of Monaco, and Kaoru Mitoma of Brighton among their ranks.
There have been seven times that Japan has participated in the World Cup, and in 2002, they were the joint hosts of the tournament along with South Korea also.
Even though they have made it to the round of sixteen on four separate occasions, they have never made it to the final eight.
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