Japan had long clinched a spot at the 2026 World Cup in the Americas after the Group C leaders confirmed their spot in March. Meanwhile, Indonesia, led by Dutch icon Patrick Kluivert, punched their ticket for the fourth round of Asia's World Cup qualifying cycle with a 1-0 win over China last Saturday.
Japan boss Hajime Moriyasu changed his side in six places and handed Sparta Rotterdam midfielder Shunsuke Mito his debut next to Liverpool's Wataru Endo and Mainz midfielder Kaishu Sano. Indonesia started with eight Dutch-Indonesian players, including Wolves' Justin Hubner, Oxford's Ole Romeny, and FC Copenhagen's Kevin Diks.
After a testy opening phase, Japan quickly took control with Crystal Palace's Daichi Kamada and Real Sociedad starlet Takefusa Kubo putting Japan up two within twenty minutes.
Kluivert ran into injury trouble early and had to waste two substitutions in the first half, with Diks and Yakob Sayuri unable to continue after 27 and 42 minutes. Daichi Kamada's second goal of the match all but ended Indonesia's hope in the sixth minute of injury time.
Japan took it up a notch in the second half and got a golden opportunity to go up four through former FC Twente winger Keito Nakamura, but the Stade Reims forward squandered a big chance after a mistake from goalkeeper Emil Audero.
Ryoya Morishita and Holstein Kiel striker Shuto Machina added Japan's fourth and fifth goals less than 15 minutes after the break, the latter after a magnificent lobbed pass from Kubo. Mao Hosoya scored Japan's sixth and final goal in the 80th minute.
Japan ended their qualifying campaign with a resounding win and on 23 points from ten matches, whereas Indonesia progressed with 12 points and in fourth place. Patrick Kluivert's side, who conceded their first loss under their new manager, will continue fighting for a first-ever World Cup ticket in October, when the three third-round matches are scheduled.
View all the match statistics on Flashscore.
