Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu told his players to maintain their focus on winning one game at a time, having set his team the lofty target of lifting the World Cup in North American in 2026. The Japanese have never progressed beyond the last 16 at the World Cup,

Japan is the leading team in Asia at 15th in the FIFA rankings and tops Group C of World Cup 2026 qualifiers, with an unbeaten record after three wins and a draw.

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia is set to take on Japan in the third round of the 2026 World Cup Asian Qualifiers on Friday, November 15, 2024. The match, scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. Jakarta time, will be broadcast live on RCTI and the Vision+ streaming platform.

Indonesia coach Shin Tae-yong believes his team can continue to challenge for a place at the World Cup finals, despite reaching the halfway point in Asia's third round of preliminaries bottom of their qualifying group.

Japan hammered a hapless Indonesia side 4-0 on Friday, extending their lead at the top of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup and edging them closer to an eighth consecutive spot at football's premier spectacle.