Moriyasu earns record third World Cup win as Japan draws level with South Korea's all-time Asian wins mark

Japan's Ito Junya celebrates with teammates Ueda Ayase and Kamada Daichi after scoring his side's third goal in their 2026 World Cup Group F match against Tunisia at Estadio Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, on Sunday. [Reuters]
Japan's Ito Junya celebrates with teammates Ueda Ayase and Kamada Daichi after scoring his side's third goal in their 2026 World Cup Group F match against Tunisia at Estadio Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, on Sunday. [Reuters]

Japan, Asia's strongest footballing nation, set new Asian records at the 2026 North America World Cup.

The Japanese national team, led by coach Moriyasu Hajime, crushed Tunisia 4-0 in their Group F second-round match at Estadio Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico, on Sunday, with Ueda Ayase scoring twice and adding an assist.

The four-goal haul was the most scored by any Asian Football Confederation member nation in a single World Cup match — a record for Japan and for all AFC nations.

The previous record of three goals had been reached twice. North Korea first set it in the quarterfinals of the 1966 England tournament against Portugal, though they lost that match 3-5. Japan later matched it by defeating Denmark 3-1 in the group stage of the 2010 South Africa World Cup.

FIFA marked the milestone, saying that across 151 previous World Cup matches played by AFC member nations, no team had ever scored four goals in a single game — and that Japan had become the first to do so.

Japan also set a new record for the largest winning margin by an Asian nation at a World Cup. The previous best was a two-goal margin, which South Korea had achieved three times: a 2-0 win over Poland in 2002, a 2-0 win over Greece in 2010, and a 2-0 win over Germany in 2018.

The match against Tunisia was also FIFA's 1,000th World Cup game overall, and Japan used the occasion to rewrite several national records.

Ueda became the first Japanese player to score multiple goals in a single World Cup match. Kamada Daichi, who opened the scoring just three minutes and 27 seconds after kickoff, became the fastest scorer in Japanese World Cup history.

Kamada, who also scored in the first match against the Netherlands — a 2-2 draw — became only the second Japanese player to score in consecutive World Cup games, after Inamoto Junichi did so in 2002.

Moriyasu, who has led Japan at two consecutive World Cups, set a new record as the winningest manager in Japanese World Cup history. Having guided Japan past Germany and Spain in the group stage of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, he earned his third World Cup win with Sunday's victory over Tunisia.

Meanwhile, the win drew Japan level with South Korea's record for the most World Cup victories by an Asian nation. South Korea, appearing at their 12th World Cup, have played 40 matches in total through their second group-stage game against Mexico in this tournament, posting a record of 8 wins, 10 draws and 22 losses, with penalty shootout results counted as draws. Japan, at their eighth World Cup, now stand at 8 wins, 7 draws and 12 losses from 27 matches.

Supporters cheer as Japan take the lead against Tunisia during an outdoor public viewing event at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Sunday. [AFP]
Supporters cheer as Japan take the lead against Tunisia during an outdoor public viewing event at Haneda Airport in Tokyo on Sunday. [AFP]

yjc@heraldcorp.com