Celtic duo locked out of mammoth win as Hibs favourites dazzle in five star showing

Celtic duo Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate were forced to watch from the sidelines as Japan became the first nation outside of tournament co-hosts United States, Canada and Mexico to qualify for the World Cup in 2026.

Hajime Moriyasu’s side have been runaway leaders in Group C of the FIFA World Cup Asian qualifiers, but officially confirmed their place at next year’s tournament with a 2-0 win over Bahrain at the Saitama Stadium thanks to second-half goals from Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo on Thursday.

Winning six and drawing one of their seven qualifying games, the Samurai Blue have mathematically guaranteed their place at next year’s tournament after securing at least a top two spot in the group, but did not call on the services of either Maeda or Hatate as they celebrated their qualification for their eighth consecutive World Cup.

Celtic's Reo Hatate was named amongst the substitutes for Japan's win over Bahrain. Cr: Getty Images. | Getty Images

The Hoops pair, who both found the net in Celtic’s 3-2 defeat to Rangers at the weekend, were left out of the starting XI as Moriyasu opted to hand starts to Feyenoord’s Ayase Ueda and Sporting CP’s Hidemasa Morita. Both Maeda and Hatate were named amongst the substitutes bench, but were not required as Japan sailed to comfortable victory.

There was worse news for ex-Celtic teammate Kyogo Furuhashi though, whose difficult past few weeks continued after being left out of the matchday squad in Saitama completely. The 29-year-old has endured a tough start to life of French top-flight outfit Rennes, who he joined for a £10million fee last month, and is yet to score in Ligue 1. Despite his inclusion being vigorously defended by head coach Moriyasu last week, the head coach opted not to include him in the squad for the game against Bahrain.

Japan are back in World Cup qualifying action again on Tuesday against Saudi Arabia, and can confirm their place as group winners if they avoid defeat in Saitama.

Adam Taggart, Kye Rowles, Jackson Irvine and Mat Ryan of Australia line up for national anthems during the round three FIFA 2026 World Cup AFC Asian Qualifier match between Australia Socceroos and Indonesia. Cr: Getty Images. | Getty Images

In the same qualification group, Australia had a trio of Hibs favourites to thank as they moved a step closer to next year’s World Cup in the USA with a thumping 5-1 win over Indonesia in Sydney. The game almost started disastrously for the home side when Indonesia were awarded an eighth minute penalty, but they were rescued when Kevin Dik’s spot kick cannoned off the inside of the post.

Just 10 minutes later they were awarded a penalty after of their own, which Easter Road hero Martin Boyle dispatched with minimal fuss to continue his impressive form in front of goal. Melbourne Victory winger Nishan Velupillay doubled the hosts lead just 90 seconds later, before ex-Hibs midfielder Jackson Irvine added a third after just after the half hour mark.

The Hibs connection produced once again on the hour mark, when Lewis Miller rose highest at the back post to thump home only his second international goal. Ole Romeny would reduce the deficit with 12 minutes to go, though Irvine notched his second for Australia in injury time to seal a commanding win at the Allianz Stadium.

The win hands Tony Popovic's men a massive boost in the race to finish second in Group C of the Asian World Cup qualifiers, which would see them qualify for next year’s tournament automatically. With three games to play, including a crunch away fixture against China on Tuesday, Australia are four points clear of third place.