World Roundup: Japan qualify; Brazil leave it very late
A whistle-stop tour around the world after the first couple of days of the March international window
We are two-and-a-bit days into the March 2025 international window and, as always, the stories are flying in faster than I can keep up.
Not that yesterday was a struggle for me — turning on the TV to watch several hours worth of AFC qualifying before focusing on UEFA matters in the evening! God bless time zones.
If you actually have a life, you might need a recap of what has happened so far. So, let this roundup be your guide.
AFC: Japan get a big “Q”
The 2026 FIFA World Cup now has four confirmed participants, after Japan became the first team to qualify for the finals.
The Samurai Blue were made to wait by a resilient Bahrain in Saitama, but finally broke through on 66 minutes through Daichi Kamada, before Takefusa Kubo sealed the win late on.
Not even wins in Group C for Australia and Saudi Arabia were enough to stop Japan maintaining their run of making every World Cup since their debut in 1998. They have taken 19 of a possible 21 points so far and sit 10 clear of the third-placed Saudis, who beat China 1-0.
Australia were particularly impressive, winning 5-1 to spoil Patrick Kluivert’s first game in charge of Indonesia. The score doesn’t tell the whole story — Indonesia hit the bar with a penalty in the opening minutes, and multiple world-class Mat Ryan saves stopped this from being a quite ridiculous score line.
Elsewhere in the AFC Third Round, wins for Iran and Uzbekistan in Group A mean they are guaranteed at least a Fourth Round place, as are Group B leaders South Korea despite a home draw with Oman. Two goals in added time saw Iraq come from 2-0 down to draw with Kuwait, though they surrendered second place to Jordan.
UEFA: Croatia with one foot in the Finals
Croatia were the big winners on the inaugural night of UEFA Nations League Quarter-finals, winning their first leg against France 2-0 courtesy of first-half strikes from Ante Budimir and Ivan Perišić, on what was an unhappy return to Les Bleus for Kylian Mbappé.
It’s also advantage Germany as they came from behind to beat Italy 2-1 in Milan, while Denmark dominated their home leg against Portugal, but will travel to Lisbon with just a 1-0 lead. A 93rd-minute Mikel Merino equaliser salvaged a 2-2 draw for Spain away at the Netherlands. All four second legs will take place on Sunday.
In the League A/B Promotion & Relegation Playoffs, Ukraine and Turkey gave themselves a great chance of promotion to League A with 3-1 first-leg wins over Belgium and Hungary, respectively. Scotland and Serbia will be quietly confident of staying in the top league, as Scotland beat Greece 1-0 away and Serbia left Austria with a 1-1 draw.
Georges Mikautadze was up to his old tricks again, scoring twice in Georgia’s 3-0 win over neighbours Armenia to all but keep them in League B. Also in the League B/C Playoffs, Ireland beat Bulgaria 2-1 away and Slovenia drew 0-0 in Slovakia. The best chance of a promotion to League B comes from Kosovo, who beat Iceland 2-1 at home.
OFC: A “New” name at the World Cup
Either New Zealand or New Caledonia will take the first-ever automatic place at the World Cup for OFC nations, after two one-sided Semi-finals in Wellington.
Three goals after half-time booked New Caledonia’s place in the Final, running out 3-0 winners over 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup participants Tahiti.
The All Whites then said “hold my beer” and thrashed Fiji 7-0, with the mighty Chris Wood scoring a hat-trick inside an hour. New Zealand will be heavy favourites to get the job done in the Final in Auckland on Monday, though New Caledonia will surely put up a better fight than the Fijians.
CONMEBOL: Vini the hero for Brazil
The CONMEBOL qualifying group has a familiar look to it right now, with Argentina leading ahead of Brazil, but only a dramatic finish in Brasília makes it so.
A 99th-minute winner from Vinícius Júnior — just his sixth for the national team — gave Brazil a 2-1 win over Colombia, after Luis Díaz had cancelled out Raphinha’s opener. Had Vini not found a way through, Brazil would currently be sitting in sixth place.
There is now a six-point gap between sixth and seventh, after Bolivia’s poor away form continued with a 3-1 loss to Peru, which in turn has put the Peruvians back in the race for the Play-off place. Paraguay strengthened their chances of a first finals appearance since 2010 with a 1-0 win over Chile. Round 13 continues tonight with Ecuador vs Venezuela and Uruguay vs Argentina.
CAF: Madagascar sit top as Comoros dream falters
Madagascar are the latest in a string of surprise group leaders in CAF qualifying, moving onto 10 points from five matches in Group I with an impressive 4-1 win over Central African Republic. They top spot from Comoros, who were well-beaten by Mali, 3-0. A win for Ghana today against whipping boys Chad will see The Black Stars take first place for themselves.
Mozambique are the new leaders in Group G having seen off Uganda 3-1, while a 3-0 win for Gabon over Seychelles sees them leapfrog Ivory Coast for now at least at the Group F summit.
A late Yannick Semedo goal was enough for Cape Verde to beat Mauritius and capitalise on Cameroon’s goalless draw with Eswatini on Wednesday to lead Group D. A 3-1 win over Guinea-Bissau means Sierra Leone are now the best of the rest behind Egypt in Group A.
Benin are the new leaders in Group C, but a 2-2 draw with Zimbabwe gives Rwanda, South Africa and even Lesotho hope of taking their place later today. 1-0 wins for Tunisia and Namibia over Liberia and Malawi, respectively, means the top two have opened up a gap at the top of Group H.
CONCACAF: Mexico & Panama reach Nations League Final
The United States’ grip on the CONCACAF Nations League is over after Mexico and Panama both recorded clean sheets to reach the 2025 Final.
Two Raúl Jiménez goals for the Mexicans saw off Canada, while United States were once again bettered by Panama thanks to a 94th-minute winner from Cecilio Waterman.
The hosts, who won the first three tournaments, must now face Canada in the third-place play-off, before either Mexico or Panama lift a maiden Nations League title. Both matches take place on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Also, seven two-legged ties get underway tonight to determine the final places at the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Seedings dictated the pairings, with bottom seeds Belize welcoming Costa Rica, while second-ranked Jamaica head to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The other first-leg ties are Bermuda vs Honduras, Guyana vs Guatemala, Cuba vs Trinidad & Tobago, Suriname vs Martinique and Guadeloupe vs Nicaragua. The second legs take place on Tuesday.
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Anthony Tomas is a football writer and commentator, who has written for World Soccer Magazine, MUNDIAL and Flashscore.