Japan got their eighth consecutive World Cup off to a strong enough start, earning a draw against Group F favourites Netherlands and beating Tunisia comfortably.
Solid performances in Dallas and Monterrey despite many notable absences will give Hajime Moriyasu and his team believe that they can compete with some of Europe and South America’s strongest teams in the USA, Mexico and Canada this summer.
The Samurai Blue have made each of the last seven World Cups having never previously qualified, and have only failed to make it out of the group stage on three occasions.
They defied the odds to finish above Spain, Germany and Costa Rica at the top of Group E at Qatar 2022, before losing on penalties to eventual bronze medalists Croatia in the round of 16 — which remains their best return to date.
Read more: FIFA World Cup Draw: Find out who will play who in 2026
Japan odds to win the World Cup
Priced at 100/1 to win the World Cup, just a few months ago, Japan’s price has now been slashed to just 50/1 and they find themselves firmly within the ‘dark horse’ category still slightly longer than Morocco.
A friendly win over England increased appetite for Japan and their performance in the opening games did little to dampen those spirits.
Japan odds to win Group F
Japan now have a real chance of qualifying, having already guaranteed four points from their first two matches.
Despite the tough nature of the group, Japan are now heavily fancied to qualify – considerably more than Sweden, whose 1-5 loss to the Netherlands severely altered the odds.
Japan World Cup top goalscorer odds
Ayase Ueda is Japan’s top bet for the World Cup Golden Boot at 125/1. The 27-year-old has 16 goals in 36 senior caps for Japan, including seven during the qualification cycle for this tournament. At club level, Ueda is the Eredivisie top scorer this season with a phenomenal 22 goals in 25 appearances.
He had a quiet performance with just one shot attempt against the Dutch, but more than made his mark vs. Tunisia with two goals and one assist.
Read more:
