Lee celebrates World Cup qualification as Sano makes comeback for Japan

Further international action on the horizon for the 05ers

Jae-sung Lee will be jetting off with South Korea to the 2026 World Cup, which is set to be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The 05er played 74 minutes of a commanding 2-0 win away in Iraq on Thursday to settle any nerves surrounding qualification. The match also marked the 32-year-old versatile forward’s 98th appearance in his national team’s colours.

Although Kaishu Sano and Japan suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat in Australia, the regular in the Mainz midfield was nevertheless able to celebrate a return to selection after more than a year without a call-up. The loss was also of little significance to his nation, since Japan had already become the first side to secure their place at next year’s World Cup back in March. The 24-year-old played 64 minutes as he racked up his fifth senior international cap.

overview of remaining fixtures

Germany U21 (Paul Nebel, Nelson Weiper)

12.06. GERMANY U21 vs. SLOVENIA U21 in Nitra (UEFA U21 EUROs)
15.06. CZECHIA U21 vs. GERMANY U21 in Dunajska Streda (UEFA U21 EUROs)
18.06. ENGLAND U21 vs. GERMANY U21 in Nitra (UEFA U21 EUROs)

Austria (Phillipp Mwene, Nikolas Veratschnig)

07.06. AUSTRIA vs. ROMANIA in Vienna (WCQ)
10.06. SAN MARINO vs. AUSTRIA in San Marino (WCQ)

South Korea (Jae-sung Lee)

10.06. SOUTH KOREA vs. KUWAIT in Seoul (WCQ)

Japan (Kaishu Sano)

10.06. JAPAN vs. INDONESIA in Osaka (WCQ)

Switzerland (Silvan Widmer)

07.06. MEXICO vs. SWITZERLAND in Salt Lake City (Friendly)
10.06. USA vs. SWITZERLAND in Nashville (Friendly)