2 days Ago
Daichi Kamada took the starring role with two first-half goals, with Takefusa Kubo, Ryoya Morishita, Shuto Machino and Mao Hosoya also among the scorers. They were overwhelmed on the field but the travelling supporters made plenty of noise at Myanmar's Thuwunna Stadium.Indonesia, under Patrick Kluivert, were outclassed.
Dominance, and an Eye on the World Cup
Kamada, coming off a season in which he won the FA Cup with Crystal Palace, scored in the 15th minute and again just before the break. He also helped on Kubo's goal, in a performance that highlighted Japan's attacking depth). Malaysian clean sheet aside, the injuries to Kevin Diks and Yakob Sayuri have interfered with their rhythm, and after the opening date defeat, Japan could run riot.
The coach, Hajime Moriyasu, already plans on winning the World Cup in North America, praised his team's never-let-up mind-set. "The players never looked at it like it was enough and kept pushing for the goal, and the goal never came," he said.
Indonesia Progress Despite Losing
While the Indonesians were thrashed, they progressed to the next stage of the AFC qualifiers, where they will join five other teams fighting it out for the final two Asian places in the 2026 World Cup.
Japan, meanwhile, will have to continue testing themselves against more superior competition over the next 12 months. There are friendlies with Mexico and the United States in September and more after that. Moriyasu also gave first caps to Junnosuke Suzuki and Shunsuke Mito, signaling that his focus for now is on building his squad for the tournament.
