Japan beat Bahrain 2-0 on Thursday and with it became the first team to qualify for next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Daichi Kamada opened the scoring in the 66th minute in Saitama and Takefusa Kuba wrapped up matters in the 87th minute.
The sixth victory from seven matches means that Japan is assured of a top two finish in their group in the third Asian qualifying round and qualified for the expanded 48-team tournament.
Asia will have eight teams at the tournament for which the three host nations are directly entered.
Japan qualified for the World Cup for an eighth straight time since a debut in 1998. Their best result is a last-16 berth on four occasions.
The Japanese women have been more successful, winning the World Cup in 2011 and reaching the final in 2015.
dpa/NAN
