- Home >
- Football >
- AFC World Cup Qualifiers >
- Kamada nets brace in Japan rout as South Korea put four past Kuwait
Kamada nets brace in Japan rout as South Korea put four past Kuwait
Despite already booking their places at the 2026 World Cup, Japan and South Korea put on ruthless displays in their final qualifying games.
Crystal Palace's Daichi Kamada scored twice as Japan thrashed Indonesia 6-0 to cap their World Cup qualifying campaign in style.
Japan, who have already qualified for the 2026 World Cup, ensured they finished on a high as they moved seven points clear of second-placed Australia in Group C.
It took just 15 minutes for Japan to open the scoring when Kamada headed Shunsuke Mito's cross beyond Emil Audero before Takefusa Kubo doubled their lead soon after.
Japan captain Kubo then turned provider for Kamada's second, picking out the Crystal Palace midfielder who embarked on a mazy run before drinking the ball into the net.
Ryoya Morishita put the result beyond doubt 10 minutes after the restart with a fine volley at the back post before Shuto Machino flicked Japan further ahead just before the hour.
Japan completed the rout in the 80th minute through Mao Hosoya, who fired the ball into the roof of the net from inside the box after good work from Kota Tawaratsumida.
Meanwhile, at the Seoul World Cup Stadium, South Korea put on an equally impressive performance as they brushed aside Kuwait 4-0 in Group B.
Like Japan, Myung-Bo Hong's side had already qualified for the World Cup, which takes place in the United States, Mexico and Canada prior to their final qualifying fixture.
Jeon Jin-Woo put South Korea ahead in the 30th minute when he headed Hwang In-Beom's corner past Sulaiman Abdulghafoor for his first international goal.
The hosts turned the screw after half-time, with Paris Saint-Germain's Lee Kang-In doubling his team's lead with a fine finish into the bottom-right corner in the 51st minute.
Oh Hyeon-Gyu put the result beyond doubt three minutes later after he collected Bae Jun-Ho's header before finding the back of the net on the swivel.
South Korea piled more misery on their opponents in the closing stages after Kuwait failed to clear from inside their own box, with Lee Jae-Sung ruthlessly punishing the mistake.
Data Debrief: Kubo stars for ruthless Japan
Japan's display against Indonesia signified their dominance in their qualifying campaign. Indeed, they registered an expected goals (xG) total of 3.99 from their 22 shots, while also restricting their opponents to zero efforts throughout the game.
Kubo was the standout for the hosts, creating a team-high six chances to go along with his two assists and goal, while only Junnosuke Suzuki (four) won more tackles than the Japan captain (three).
They also took their tally to 30 goals throughout their qualifying campaign, at least 10 more than the second-best team in the third round of qualifiers across all three groups (Japan second with 20 goals).