The Japan national soccer team faced a scandal. The person involved is none other than head coach Hajime Moriyasu.
The Japan national team will compete against Bahrain in the '2026 North and Central America World Cup Asia Third Qualifiers Round 7' held at Saitama Stadium in Japan on the 20th. Afterwards, Japan will face Saudi Arabia at the same location on the 25th.
If Japan defeats Bahrain, it will secure its spot in the finals of the North and Central America World Cup first.
Currently, Japan is in Group C with 5 wins and 1 draw (16 points). They boast overwhelming performance with 22 goals scored and 2 conceded. Japan is 9 points ahead of second-place Australia (7 points), making their qualification for the finals highly likely.
An incident occurred just before an important match. The Japan Football Association stated, "Coach Moriyasu was involved in a minor traffic accident with a truck while driving on the highway at 3 p.m. on the 12th. Coach Moriyasu self-reported to the police."
The police investigation revealed that the truck driver was unaware of the accident. It was that minor of an incident. The police acknowledged Coach Moriyasu's fault in the situation.
The Japan Football Association noted, "A severe warning was issued to Coach Moriyasu. We provided traffic safety education to all association staff."
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