Japan, which first secured a ticket to the 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup, is leisurely observing the situation of rival South Korea.

The Japan national football team won 2-0 against Bahrain in the home match of the 7th round of Group C in the third round of the Asian qualifiers for the North and Central America World Cup, held at Saitama Stadium in Japan on the 20th. Japan, leading with a goal from Daichi Kamada in the 66th minute, sealed the victory with a goal from Takefusa Kubo in the 87th minute.

With this victory, Japan continued its unbeaten streak (6 wins and 1 draw) and accumulated 19 points, securing second place in the group. Under the leadership of head coach Hajime Moriyasu, Japan became the first country to secure a spot at the North and Central America World Cup.

Now, Japan can afford to lose all remaining three matches. Coach Moriyasu can conduct various tests to find the best combination for the remaining matches. Additionally, it allows them the luxury of considering the situations of surrounding countries.

Japanese media are observing South Korea, which is in a contrasting mood to their own national team. The South Korean national team, led by head coach Hong Myung-bo, drew 1-1 against Oman, overturning expectations that they would dominate the match. South Korea still leads Group B with 15 points, but only by a mere 3 points over Jordan, which has 12 points.

Above all, South Korea's plan to wrap up their passage to the North and Central America World Cup this month has gone awry. By drawing with Oman, even if they win against Bahrain, they will not be able to secure qualification.

As South Korea lost, Japan is paying attention to head coach Hong's comments regarding 'iron pillar' Kim Min-jae (29, Bayern Munich) and his Achilles injury, along with the rebuttal from the German media outlet Bavarian Football Works.

On the 17th, head coach Hong noted, "Kim Min-jae is a very important player both for Munich and the national team," and pointed out, "It was a bit disappointing that Munich did not protect players for injury prevention, resulting in us having to play crucial matches without key players."

He continued, "There have been signals of injury risk regarding Kim Min-jae since last year. We were fully aware of it, but it's not appropriate to put that player into the match at this critical time, so we made the bold decision to rest him for player protection."

As head coach Hong expressed his grievances toward Bayern Munich, Bavarian Football Works emphasized, "While it's understandable for the national team coach to be upset about not being able to utilize the best players, one does not have the right to complain."

They further stated, "The injury issues with Kim Min-jae date back to October of last year. He has mentioned several times that he played through pain. Nevertheless, South Korea continuously called him up," adding that "Kim Min-jae had to endure long flights covering thousands of kilometers, adding additional burden to his body."

In particular, this media outlet highlighted, "Currently, South Korea is in the easiest group for the final World Cup qualifiers," and raised their voices saying, "If South Korea cannot win against teams like Oman, Iraq, and Palestine without Kim Min-jae, they do not deserve a place in the World Cup."

In response, Japanese Football Channel remarked, "It is unclear whether the injury to Kim Min-jae had an impact, but South Korea added just one point with the unexpected draw against Oman. Next, they will face Jordan. Will South Korea be able to secure a victory and move one step closer to qualifying for the World Cup despite the absence of a key defender?"

[OSEN]