Japan secured a dominant 7-0 win over regional rivals China at the Saitama Stadium 2002 on Thursday, allowing Hajime Moriyasu’s men to take early control of Group C in the third round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers.
Wataru Endo and Kaoru Mitoma gave Japan a comfortable two-goal cushion by half-time, with Takumi Minamino adding two more goals early in the second half. Junya Ito netted the fifth goal late in the match, Daizen Maeda headed in the sixth with just three minutes remaining, and Takefusa Kubo completed the scoring in injury time, securing an emphatic win for Japan over a Chinese side who could do nothing to bother the Samurai Blue despite having star striker Wu Lei leading the line.
Japan started brightly, with Mitoma leading the charge down the left flank. By the 12th minute, they broke the deadlock. Chinese goalkeeper Wang Dalei had earlier denied Ritsu Doan’s header, but from the ensuing corner, Kubo found Endo unmarked 10 meters out, allowing the Liverpool midfielder to score with a precise header.
Japan nearly doubled their lead in the 33rd minute when Ayase Ueda latched onto Koki Machida’s through pass and set up Doan, but Wang smothered the shot. Hidemasa Morita then hit the side netting as Japan searched for a second goal, which finally arrived in first-half injury time. Doan’s cross from the right found Mitoma, who guided his header back across Wang and into the net.
Japan extended their lead just seven minutes into the second half as Minamino scored his first of the night with a curled finish after Mitoma’s perfectly weighted pass released him behind the Chinese defense. Six minutes later, Minamino struck again, calmly placing a low shot beyond Wang’s reach.
Substitute Ito, who was recently cleared from accusations of sexual assault, added a fifth in the 77th minute when his shot took a deflection and wrong-footed Wang before finding the corner. Ito then assisted Maeda’s headed goal in the 87th minute. In injury time, Kubo fired the ball into the roof of the net to complete Japan’s emphatic victory.