Japan became the first team to book their place at the 2026 finals after defeating Bahrain 2-0 on the seventh matchday of the third round of Group C in the Asian Zone. The Samurai Blue are now mathematically assured of finishing in the top two. Hajime Moriyasu’s side have 19 points, nine behind second-placed Australia.
Meanwhile, Indonesia failed to pick up any more points after losing 5-1 to Australia in their return match at the Sydney Football Stadium on Thursday (21 March).
The defeat saw Jay Idze’s side drop a place to fourth in the standings.
In another match, Saudi Arabia moved up to third place after a narrow 1-0 win over China at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh on Friday morning IST.
Salem Al Daswari scored the winner for the home side in the second half. Meanwhile, China played with 10 players after Lin Liangmin was shown a red card.
The win puts the Green Falcons firmly in third place on nine points. Meanwhile, China are bottom of Group C with six points.
Here is the latest Group C standings from the third round of Asian Zone qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, as reported by FIFA:
| No | Team | Play | Win | Draw | Lost | Points |
| 1 | Japan | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
| 2 | Australia | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| 3 | Saudi Arabia | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 4 | Indonesia | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 5 | Bahrain | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 6 | China | 7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 6 |