Moriyasu Remains Cautious Ahead Of Bahrain Clash Despite 7-0 Win Over China

Australia’s unexpected World Cup qualifying defeat against Bahrain on September 5 has led Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu to issue a warning as his team gets ready to face Bahrain, the team that beat the Socceroos, in Riffa on Tuesday, September 3.

Late Goal Gave Bahrain A Win 

Harry Souttar’s late goal gave Bahrain a surprise 1-0 victory in their opening match of the third phase of Asia’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Now Japan and Bahrain are at the top of the table in Group C following the first round.

“This win doesn’t guarantee that we will qualify or mean anything before the Bahrain game,” Moriyasu said, reported by Sportstar.

Despite Japan’s confident 7-0 win over China at Saitama Stadium, coach Hajime Moriyasu remains cautious. The Samurai Blue prepare to travel to Manama for their next match and refuse to take anything for granted.

“We should not forget to prepare at our best going into the remaining matches. (The Australia-Bahrain) result confirms how difficult the first match in these Asian qualifiers can be and we should never feel relaxed,” said the Japan Coach, reported by Sportstar. 

“Ranking-wise Australia should have won, but that doesn’t guarantee that you can always win. We always need to focus on the next game do our best, and then repeat that exercise. I think the loss of Australia has given us that lesson again,” he added.

Aims For An Eighth Consecutive World Cup Appearance 

The Japanese team performed well at Saitama Stadium, with Takumi Minamino scoring twice, and Wataru Endo, Kaoru Mitoma, Junya Ito, Daizen Maeda, and Takefusa Kubo were also on target in the match.

This year in the 16 of the Asian Cup, the Japanese team won 3-1 against Bahrain. However, Moriyasu is excited to avoid any complacency as Japan aims for an eighth consecutive World Cup appearance. 

According to Sportstar, he said, “Bahrain will have momentum with that win and it’s going to be a home game for them, so we just need to be aware of that going into the match.” 

“Sometimes we need to play aggressively but sometimes we have to be very tolerant and play until the end, doing our best until the final whistle. It depends on the flow of the match. We have to be very flexible and maximize the ability of the individual players on the pitch,” he further stated. 

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