Video: Japan advance to face Brazil, while Sweden qualify from the ‘third’ gate

Japan and Sweden qualified for the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup after a positive 1-1 draw forced their encounter in Round 3 of the group stage, which saw the Samurai finish second in the group while ensuring Sweden finished in the top three.

The Japanese side came into the match looking for a win, hoping to challenge for the top spot in the group, and imposed their advantage for most of the first half, but were hit by the brilliance of Swedish goalkeeper Jakob Fidel Zetterström, who kept a clean sheet, while Sweden were hit hard by the injury of their main defender, Isaac Henn, before the end of the first half.

Japan’s lead continued after the break until Daisen Maeda opened the scoring in the 56th minute, taking advantage of Ritsu Doan’s perfect cross to score his first international goal since September 2024.

But Sweden’s response was swift as Anthony Elanga grabbed the equalizer after just four minutes, after he started down the right and slotted a superb left-footed shot into the net, scoring for the second game in a row and putting his country back into the match.

The final minutes saw back-and-forth attempts to grab the winner, as Japan goalkeeper Zion Suzuki excelled to stop attempts by Alexander Isaki and Ilanga, while Koki Ogawa missed a valuable chance that would have been enough to give Japan the win, so the match ended in a draw that served both teams well.

With this result, the Japanese team finished the group stage in second place, organizing a fiery match against the leader of the opposite group, Brazil, in one of the strongest confrontations of the 32 finals.

Sweden, on the other hand, continued their presence in the World Cup qualifiers for the 5th time in a row after securing qualification among the top third placed teams, waiting to know their opponent in the next round at the end of the third round matches.

Attention now turns to Japan and Brazil, one of the most high-profile matches of the round of 32, while Sweden hope to continue their run and win their late qualification to go far in the tournament.